In part one, I briefly introduced how patient God had set out to be with Moses regarding his newly revealed assignment from God. Moses seemingly takes a humble approach by admitting he is not worthy of such an honorable task as stated in Exodus 3:11, however, when contrasted with the scripture we’ll look at in part three, we’ll begin to see what the true root of Moses’ problem is: his faithlessness. We will first begin by looking at the psychology of the ordeal that led to Moses’ predisposition. We find that in chapter 2 verse 12b Moses is a murderer,

“he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”

and a coward in verse 15a of the same chapter,

“But Moses fled…”

He does what he believes to be justice – killing another human being – then runs from the same justice he dealt out once it befalls on him. He runs not only as a murdering coward, yet also as an afflicted slave. Let’s look at Hebrews 11:24-26 says about Moses being a son of the Pharaoh’s daughter:

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,”

Think about the wonderful things he must have been built up with on a daily basis being a slave in a foreign land! Granted, Moses chose a noble walk by enduring hardships for his brothers’ sakes, but he still lacked integrity by running. So, he takes off, runs to Midian and finds this girl and marries her. Now, he’s got all this baggage we uncovered from the earlier passages and now he was interracially married. He becomes a shepherd to his father-in-laws flock (nothing like working for the family business!) when God appears to him. It would seem to me that Moses doesn’t have the greatest self image. He surely isn’t seeing himself as a child of God. Sure, he knows right from wrong and even his cowardly shell is cracking away as he stands up to many shepherds at a well to defend the maidens,

“Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.”

I could just see Charleston Heston standing there in his robe after chasing off the other shepherds and say with a half grin and wrinkled brow, “It’s all in a day’s work, m’ ladies.” But Moses was a far cry from Charleston Heston, but then again, that’s Hollywood for you in 1956.

God, in all His glory, power, might, omniscience, wisdom and goodness, decides to pursue this ordinary man to do His extraordinary task. In part 3, we'll look at God's methodology for getting Moses to do this task; how He went about enlisting such a man to pluck God's people from Pharaoh and his oppressive lands and what Moses’ reaction was to this assignment.

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In the following scriptures I will be surveying, God displays many of His awesome attributes. A few are His holiness, His love, His mercy, goodness, steadfastness, His truth, graciousness, justice, wisdom, eternity and even His wrath. But this particular survey will be delving in His attribute and ability to be patient. We'll look at this question again at the end, but I'd also like this question to be on the forefront of your mind as you read through the survey: Can you imagine what kind of god that God would be like if He was lacking in patience? What would our lives be like? How would that affect the decisions and choices we make? Should it affect the decisions or choices we make, or simply just the gratitude in we have for His patience?

In Exodus 3:10, Moses is tasked with confronting Pharaoh

"Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."

Yet, in what seemingly sounds like a humble cry to the LORD exclaiming his comprehension of how unworthy he is of such an honorable task, it is just the opposite. He complains. He whines. He makes excuses. At first, verse 11 shows us that he acknowledges how lowly he sees himself:

But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?"

God, being full of patience, assures Moses. But it's not just that He assures him, it's how He assures him that I found so interesting. He doesn't fly off the handle (like we see SO many other times in scripture, right?), He lovingly encourages him with His presence in verse 12.

And He said, "Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."

The words God uses are so profound, are they not? "Certainly I will be with you..." As a father, my daughters look to me for reassurance in many things. And where I fail so much of the time is by giving them positive, certain encouragement. I usually find myself saying things like, "Just trust me." or "Just do as I say, okay?" Instead, if I could just be a little more patient with them, show a little more grace and love, perhaps then they may learn a different way to trust in me. Then soon enough I won't have to reassure them. But you see, I try to get them to do something more than they're able at that juncture in their life. They haven't developed the faith yet as I expect them to have.

I want this study God has given me to share with you to be meaningful. I'm breaking it up into smaller bits because I've found longer posts to be daunting for most. This is part one of however many He wants me to have. I hope you gain from them for His sake. Please comment often with encouragment, correction or what have you. God bless.

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Lately I've felt discouraged, tired, grievous and distressed over brothers and sisters, decisions, the world and even the church as America sees her and the choices being made. There is no question of me giving up, I wouldn't know how to. For me, my pathway of present is a way of life. It's who I am to my very core being. And giving up on that would be denying who I am and who God is calling me to be. At that point, I might as well be through with the purpose of my life here on earth. The discouragement creeps in when I realize that my pathway is an exhausting one. One where I find little rest from grievous and distressed situations such as hearing of people I know of going through abortions, divorces, fights, death without Christ. It's all very distressing and exhausting.

Irony is serving the Lord in hopes that the work He has given you for this moment might minister to someone when in fact just months later, it ministers to you. Half a year ago I wrote this bit and sent it to some that are important to me. I just reread it and was encouraged in it. Here it is to share once again:

Joshua 1:9 (NIV) – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 (KJV) - Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

I remember watching Gladiator where in the very beginning where General Maximus was riding the line and all his soldiers collectively offered by utterance, “Strength and honor!” It was more than a salute to them, it was their way of battle, survival and life.

Not so much unlike those warriors, we too are warriors; but of a higher purpose. The battles we war over aren’t about land, lust or power. We know that as Christians we fight for the sake of eternal life; that we might know Him, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He sent. Being a former combat Marine, I was trained hard and diligently that my enemy was a person. Terrorists don’t wear uniforms, so they aren’t very easily identifiable, however, they were nonetheless human. Our enemy isn’t merely the powers that feed the unsaved (where we then combat that power by preaching Christ to those unsaved). The enemy is so much more than that; it’s the flesh we live with daily. Our lustful desires to satisfy our selfish cravings for pleasure – be it money, sex, drugs, eating or drinking or really anything that doesn’t bring glory to the only Worthy One, our Father and Lord.

Wars are won one battle at a time. Each battle has it’s missions which are crucial to that battle’s success. Every mission requires planned objectives thoroughly and thoughtfully executed. So, what’s my point? Simple; pray. Often, too. We must be in constant communication with our CO (Commanding Officer). Ha ha, just had a thought: General Jesus. That’s cool! LOL. Anyway, pray for strength and courage, because we are commanded to be strong and of a good courage. The mere fact that this is a command transcends to a promise to us – God doesn’t command us to do things that we are unable to do, and through Him we will prevail. So, He commanded us to be strong and of a good courage, then have His strength and be of His courage. We are ordered to be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. DO NOT be afraid! He is there. Always. Everywhere. With all power and grace, He lovingly protects us and guides us. But just as Peter began to sink in the water when he took his eyes off of Jesus, let that remind us to remain focused, stay the course and be in the light and in doing so WE WILL WALK ON WATERS!

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