Have you ever had a dream or a vision and wonder why it is taking the Lord so long to answer it ? You thought it was a good idea,but the Lord is silent and time is passing by.
The story of Moses is where I first learned about the death of a vision. We are told that Moses was a meek and humble man. He trusted in and obeyed the Lord's commandments. However, Moses wasn't always humble, Earlier in his life, when he saw an Egyptian abusing a fellow Hebrew, his temper rose and Moses became a murderer. He killed an Egyptian.
His intentions were admirable. He thought he was helping God stop the Egyptians from flogging his Hebrew brethren. Moses was discovered trying to bury his victim and had to ran for his life. He ended up far, far away in the back side of the wilderness. There he became a shepherd, tending sheep for a living.
Talk about humble pie! His dreams were over. Moses who once was a somebody, who sat in the audience of the great Pharaoh , now was a was a nobody. But,God was not finished with him.
Forty years later when the Lord called Moses out of the burning bush, he was a totally broken man. His self-confidence and pride had been exposed. The years he spent in the wilderness had broken his self will. He no longer had any confidence in himself to act for God. In fact he asked the Lord to send his brother Aaron. Moses had been humbled. He knew that if the Lord did go before him, it was totally impossible to do what the Lord was asking. He was in a good place. He had to depend on his God. That is what made him a humble man. He had complete trust and confidence in the Lord and not in himself.
God had taken a somebody, made him a nobody, and then raised him to be a somebody that He could use. The Lord had dwelt with Moses's pride, his self-will. He didn't get there overnight. It was a process that only God could do. God had a work for Moses and only He could prepare him to lead his people out of bondage in Egypt. Apart from the Lord's power, it would be totally impossible for any man.
What I have learned is that if an idea or vision is really from the Lord, it is important to let it die. If it is not from the Lord, it will stay dead. If it is from Him, He will resurrect it and use me to fulfill it. Don't try to accomplish in the flesh (self-life) what only God can perform by the Holy Spirit. Surrender to Him and let God be God.
This is so good Dottie.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of this,closely related to what you are saying is when you feel like God has a calling for your life and you screw things up. Exodus is a good illustration of how the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable.
Steven's speech to the Sanhedrin tells us that Moses knew, even when he was still in Egypt that God had called him to deliver His people. But perhaps he thought that with his Charisma and abilities he could start some kind of insurrection to deliver Israel. When plans didn't work out and he ended up fleeing for his life I'm quite sure he went through a long period of depression.
I'm sure he also prayed a lot and repented. "God, I really screwed things up.I should have done this or I should have done that. I would do anything to go back and do things over. I'm sorry I killed the Egyptian. I should have waited for your direction. How can your people be delivered? Do you hear their cries?? Do you see their misery?? When will you do something??
Moses may have spent many years repenting for what he had done. He may also have spent quite a lot of that time praying for his fellow Israelites and asking God to send someone else to deliver them, since his opportunity to do so apparently came and went.
It's encouraging to know that the very thing that you believe you have irrevocably screwed up forever may not be screwed up at all. You may just have pursued something before its time. God seems to have an incredible ability to "resurect" opportunities and Moses is the perfect example.