Charles Stanley (July-18-2024) Daily Devotional: Breaking Down Faith Barriers.
As you seek to follow God, He will help you overcome each obstacle you encounter.
Exodus 4:1-17 - Then Moses said, ``What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, `The LORD has not appeared to you.'" The LORD said to him, ``What is that in your hand?" And he said, ``A staff." Then He said, ``Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the LORD said to Moses, ``Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail"--so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand-- ``that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."...
Yesterday, we discussed how Moses doubted God’s calling to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But the Lord graciously provided reassurance through wondrous signs and promised to help His servant accomplish everything, no matter how impossible it might seem (Ex. 4:1-5).
Moses wasn’t eloquent, and his inability to speak well left him feeling inadequate. So God reassured him by saying, “I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say” (v. 12). Remember, the Lord looks at the heart, not human qualifications (1 Samuel 16:7 - But the LORD said to Samuel, ``Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."), which is why the people He chooses to carry out His plan often seem unlikely. What’s more, God can also overcome all our inadequacies. That’s what He did by calling Moses’ brother Aaron to go along and proclaim the God-given message (Ex. 4:14-17).
The Lord had an answer for each one of Moses’ concerns, and He will likewise help us overcome obstacles when we follow Him. As we step out in obedience, our trust in God grows, and we are able to leave the outcome—whatever it may be—to Him. Then, as the faith barriers in our life are demolished, we’ll be able to see the evidence of God’s presence and power. Not only that, but we will also experience the joy of submitting to His perfect will.
