Psalms 139:13-16 – “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” NASB

Let us pick up where we left off and look at the person I mentioned in our last session – Moses!  Consider this young sprout of “80”.  If we did not know the entire story, none of us would even guess that Moses suffered from feelings of Inferiority, But He Did!  It may have been because he had a history of failure. 

In Exodus 3, Moses murdered an Egyptian, had to flee Egypt, and found himself in the Midian Desert. This was not a place of “high visibility.”  He is in a place of low visibility with his in-laws, his wife, and raising his children.  He has been forgotten, at least in his mind.  For 40 years, he has not seen nor heard from Egypt.  It is almost as if he does not exist any longer.  Then, in the middle of this, God shows us as a “Burning Bush.”  God had a great deal to say about what He wanted and what He would do, but I can almost guarantee you that all Moses heard was “I Send You.”

I say that because of his reaction.  It appears that immediately, he thought of his failures and how unworthy, incapable, ill-equipped, and unstable he had been.  For 40 years, he has nursed the image of himself as a “failure.”  He did not feel capable.

I urge you to pause for a minute and realize that we are not talking about “Humility” but about “Inferiority.”  Feeling inferior is not being humble.  Humble people have the absolute highest degree of confidence in God.  They trust God to do whatever He says He will do.  Humility and faith go hand in hand.  They are inseparable.  So does Humility and servanthood. Moses became humble, but at that moment, he felt inferior.

In the context of the importance of humility, Paul told the Corinthians, “For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.”  [2 Corinthians 11:5].  Then he repeats that statement in [2 Corinthians 12:11].

In Exodus 3:1, Moses asks, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of the land?”  Moses questioned God.  He was saying, “I can’t go.  I am not qualified.”  The truth is this called both the power and wisdom of God into question.  It also questioned the faithfulness of God and His character.  In Exodus 3:2, God has promised to go with him!

Oh well, you say; in that case, I am sure Moses packed his bags and headed for Egypt to do what God instructed.  Not on Your Life!  In Exodus 4:1, Moses asked: “…. What if they do not believe me or listen to what I say?”  Now, hold on, Moses.  Who are you focusing on now?  It is most assuredly not God because God has promised to go with you.  No, you are focusing entirely on yourself!

Consider how God responded to this:  Exodus 4:2-3 – “What is in your hand? And he said, ‘a staff.’  Then He (God) said, ‘Throw it on the ground, and it became a serpent.’”  Wow!  What a demonstration of supernatural power.  God is saying: “Moses, Moses, get your eyes off yourself and onto Me.  If I can do this, I certainly can handle Pharaoh and the people of Israel.”  You see, God was convinced that Moses was the man, but Moses was not convinced.  So, in Exodus 4:4-5 – God reversed the process, but Moses still held out.

Exodus 4:10 – “Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and tongue.”  NASB

That is so common!  Moses is playing the “I’m just a simple man game.”  God’s directives and promises are being ignored and even rejected.  The entire focus of Moses’ heart is on himself, not God, not God’s promises, power, and provisions, but on Moses the man!

I want to boldly declare: “An inferiority complex is a satanic deception that keeps scores of people from even considering Christian service.”  Many are convinced they must be eloquent to preach or do a work for God.  They think they have to be worthy, quick-witted, and glib-tongued.  But, if you will notice, God told Moses in no uncertain terms that he did not have to be “eloquent” or “available.”

Exodus 4:11 – “The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

We must never forget that God will take our inabilities and transform them.  He will give us the words to say.  Disabilities do not disqualify.  No matter what the task – YOU CAN DO IT in God!  If we are ever to become what God wants us to be, we must come to a clear understanding of God’s estimate of us!

We will get to that next time, but for the time being, consider Moses’ objections and those you have used from time to time and see if there is any correlation.  I believe that you will be amazed to find how much our lives run the same path as Moses in many ways. 

Until we meet again, may God grant you the wisdom and knowledge to know what to do and when to do it.  Blessings!