BBD 02.17.14 Reluctant Servants (Classic)

#1 · February 17, 2014, 12:47 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on February 17, 2014, 12:47 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

The Burning Bush Devotional

14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional

Classic from 2005

02.17.14

Reluctant Servants

Moses:

But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and
that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" - Exodus 3:11.

Gideon:

So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan
is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." -
Judges 6:15.

Esther:

Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai:
"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that
any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been
called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king
holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been
called to go in to the king these thirty days." - Esther 4:10.

Recently, someone shared with me how they had awakened in
the middle of the night and being unable to sleep had read for awhile. One of
the things that they read was a story about a woman writing devotionals, and
they were touched by the story. Since I know this person very well that was
sharing with me, I know that they have excellent writing skills and a creative
mind very capable of writing devotionals, or books, or articles, or just about
anything. However, I also know that this person is not writing. I then shared
that it sounded to me that God had given a call to write. But they said, “Shouldn’t I have a desire to do that.” In other words, this person did not want to do it.

My response was this: Moses had the call - but he didn’t
have a desire to do it. Gideon had the call - but he didn’t want to do it.
Esther had the call - but she didn’t want to do it.

In the lives of all three of these individuals, God had
invested much training and preparation for the mission He had for them. Moses
had received the best education possible for an adopted son of the daughter of
the Pharaoh. Many believe he had also received advanced military and leadership
training. Moses had then spent 40 years on the backside of the desert receiving
his “doctorate” in desert survival skills.

Gideon according to his own account was a “nobody”.
He belonged to the smallest tribe in the smallest family in the entire nation
and probably believed he was the smallest member of his own family. In other
words, Gideon was the very least qualified person, in the entire nation, to
lead a revolution. However, God had been preparing Gideon. Gideon had a unique
skill that perhaps no one else in the nation possessed. That skill was the
ability to listen. He could hear God’s voice.

Esther had won the royal beauty pageant to replace the
queen that had fallen out of favor. As Mordecai told Esther, "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace
any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this
time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but
you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to
the kingdom for such a time as this (Esther 4:13-14)?"

What was the source of the reluctance of Moses, Gideon,
and Esther? They feared for their lives! They had a very real fear that to be
obedient to God could mean the loss of their physical lives.

What about you? Has God called you to do something, but
you don’t want to do it? What is the reason for your fear? The possibility that
you might be embarrassed if the reaction of your friends is not positive? Or,
is it the possibility that you might face a reduction in your income? Or, is it
because someone close to you is opposed to what God wants?

It may be that you are thinking something along the lines
of “Surely there is someone else that God can use
to do this?” God can do that. He can raise up someone out
of thin air, but He wants you and has prepared you. Please don’t let
embarrassment, or money, or immature Christians rob you of the greatest
blessing of your life!

Copyright © 2005-2014. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn
profile with endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of
prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

The Burning Bush Devotional

14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional

Classic from 2005

02.17.14

Reluctant Servants

Moses:

But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and
that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" - Exodus 3:11.

Gideon:

So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan
is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." -
Judges 6:15.

Esther:

Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai:
"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that
any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been
called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king
holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been
called to go in to the king these thirty days." - Esther 4:10.

Recently, someone shared with me how they had awakened in
the middle of the night and being unable to sleep had read for awhile. One of
the things that they read was a story about a woman writing devotionals, and
they were touched by the story. Since I know this person very well that was
sharing with me, I know that they have excellent writing skills and a creative
mind very capable of writing devotionals, or books, or articles, or just about
anything. However, I also know that this person is not writing. I then shared
that it sounded to me that God had given a call to write. But they said, “Shouldn’t I have a desire to do that.” In other words, this person did not want to do it.

My response was this: Moses had the call - but he didn’t
have a desire to do it. Gideon had the call - but he didn’t want to do it.
Esther had the call - but she didn’t want to do it.

In the lives of all three of these individuals, God had
invested much training and preparation for the mission He had for them. Moses
had received the best education possible for an adopted son of the daughter of
the Pharaoh. Many believe he had also received advanced military and leadership
training. Moses had then spent 40 years on the backside of the desert receiving
his “doctorate” in desert survival skills.

Gideon according to his own account was a “nobody”.
He belonged to the smallest tribe in the smallest family in the entire nation
and probably believed he was the smallest member of his own family. In other
words, Gideon was the very least qualified person, in the entire nation, to
lead a revolution. However, God had been preparing Gideon. Gideon had a unique
skill that perhaps no one else in the nation possessed. That skill was the
ability to listen. He could hear God’s voice.

Esther had won the royal beauty pageant to replace the
queen that had fallen out of favor. As Mordecai told Esther, "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace
any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this
time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but
you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to
the kingdom for such a time as this (Esther 4:13-14)?"

What was the source of the reluctance of Moses, Gideon,
and Esther? They feared for their lives! They had a very real fear that to be
obedient to God could mean the loss of their physical lives.

What about you? Has God called you to do something, but
you don’t want to do it? What is the reason for your fear? The possibility that
you might be embarrassed if the reaction of your friends is not positive? Or,
is it the possibility that you might face a reduction in your income? Or, is it
because someone close to you is opposed to what God wants?

It may be that you are thinking something along the lines
of “Surely there is someone else that God can use
to do this?” God can do that. He can raise up someone out
of thin air, but He wants you and has prepared you. Please don’t let
embarrassment, or money, or immature Christians rob you of the greatest
blessing of your life!

Copyright © 2005-2014. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn
profile with endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of
prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org