“Who am I?” This was the self examining question that was asked by many of the men within the scriptures, when God appeared before them declaring what God wanted to do through them. Realizing the weakness, sinful nature and limited ability of themselves, compared to the situation that was ahead of them, they were overwhelmed by their human frailty. In 2 Samuel God appears to David and proclaims His purposes for David’s coming generations, an eternal kingship. David responds with, “Who am I” (2 Sam. 7:18). A similar response was given by Solomon when he becomes king (2 Chron. 2:6), by Gideon when the angel of the Lord calls him to leadership in Judges 6, and by the Psalmist when he declares in Psalm 8, “What is man that You are mindful of him?” In true humility, they questioned why God would want to work in and through them.
Many times we too would think in a similar way or ask the same type of question. We would dismiss ourselves because we are not able, we don’t have the answers, or our background is not adequate. Interestingly Moses, when about to accept the call to lead the children of Israel, wanted to know “Who are You?”, or “What is Your name?” (Ex.3:13,14) Moses had already gone past the point of wondering about his own strength and ability (Ex 3:11). Moses knew that he was insufficient for the task. Now he wanted to know of the nature and power of this God Who had called him, the One Whom he was about to serve.
It is easy, in the situations that are before us, to pull back and to dismiss our own personal ability. We feel that we are not sufficient for the task and so we do nothing. Yes, we may be properly evaluating our skills and weaknesses, yet what about the “God Factor”. What part does God have to play in the equation? Moses, knowing his limitations realized that for what was ahead of him, he needed to know his God better, the One Who was to work through and in him. As believers in Jesus Christ, shouldn’t that be the true point of focus?
Lord reveal Yourself , Your strength and Your ways, more clearly to us that we might trust in your ability more than in our own weaknesses.
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