GOD’S WORD FOR AUGUST 26 ~ ~ Romans 15:13 ~ ~ “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Taken from Dr. Tony Evans’s book, “The Power of the Names of God”
Tony writes:
We’ve just taken a look at the way Abraham’s surrender to God as ADONAI affected the timing of God’s covenant with him, God’s communication with him, and even God’s intimacy with him.
Another example of this occurs in Moses’s life. As we saw, Moses had become a bit unsettled and unsure of himself after being a shepherd in the wilderness for four decades. When god shows up in the midst of a burning bush, giving Moses the commission of a lifetime, Moses balks.
Exodus 4:10-13 ~ ~ Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
Essentially, Moses starts by telling God that the only thing God has asked him to do, he simply cannot do. Moses doesn’t feel qualified to speak on behalf of God to Pharaoh. He believes to do so would require a certain level of articulation, a college degree, notoriety….anything to establish his credibility. He’s convinced he doesn’t possess the raw material for the natural gifting to do what God says. He doubts God’s calling on his life.
However, Moses recognizes that despite his insecurities, God is in charge. God owns him. Moses addresses God as ADONAI, respectfully communicating his timidity. By doing so, Moses confesses that God runs this show. Moses may not see how this plan is possible, but he knows enough to know that God is ADONAI, and so he speaks to Him as he one who is in charge.
To which God replies that He is the maker of mouths, tongues, and all that is necessary to carry out His plan on earth. In essence, God let Moses know that even when people aren’t able to fulfill the calling on their lives, if they will recognize Him as ADONAI, he can make them fully capable. God doesn’t always call the equipped, but He always equips the called.
I can write confidently about this not only because of Scripture, but also because I’ve experienced it in my own life. In fact, when I was growing up, I could relate to Moses in a number of ways.
I often struggled in speaking. In fact, some people would say I more than struggled. There was a time when I stuttered so bad that no one could understand me. I could barely get a word out. Yet at other times, according to my teachers’ remarks on my report cards—I would also frequently try to speak out of turn. As one teacher put it, I would raise y hand to answer her before ever listening to the question. As a child, I had a desire to speak but lacked the necessary skills. Apparently my timing was off.
My teachers never suspected that I would one day make a living as a speaker. “Anthony has difficulty expressing himself orally,” one teacher wrote. Not exactly someone you would expect God to call to preach the Word to tens of thousands of people at a time.
Yet, that’s exactly how God often works. When we surrender to Him as Lord and owner over our lives, He takes the raw materials of our human existence and sprinkles His power on us, suffuses His grace over us, and infuses His Spirit into us. He makes it work despite how feeble our own abilities may be.
That’s why it’s important never to let what other people say to you or about you limit what you do for god and His kingdom. When God is your ADONAI, when you submit yourself to Him, giving Him full control to guide and direct you according to His will, He can use you in ways that will stupefy those who knew you back when. God can give you supernatural ability to do what you can’t do naturally. He did it for Abraham. He did it for Moses. He did it for me. He’s done it for many, and ADONAI can do it for you. And not only for speaking to groups. ( He may use you to give the gospel to individuals, hand out tracts, or help your friends and neighbors to be saved. He will also develop His relationship with you in other ways that will benefit your life on this earth.)
You haven’t even begun to see what God can do if He becomes not only your ELOHIM, the God of creation who made the heavens and earth, but also your ADONAI, the master, ruler, and owner of your life. Unfortunately, any people are content with just the God of creation. In fact, they’re content with many of the names of God, but they push back against this one the most—ADONAI.
In the New Testament, we refer to this as the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When God is your ADONAI, when Jesus is your Lord, His Word has the final say. That is true surrender. Your response to Him is, “Yes, Sir, God. Whatever You say, Lord. I trust You, Sir. I’ll follow Your will.”
If you want to see God freely unleash His power in and through your life, never use “no” and “God” in the same sentence. Moses, a humble shepherd in the backwoods of Midian,confessed God as ADONAI, and God empowered him to lead an entire nation from slavery to freedom. Just think what ADONAI can do in your life.