But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

Exodus 4:13-17 NIV

Moses’ question to God was, “Can’t you find someone else?” Moses at this point had run out of valid objections, especially because God patiently responded to each one. God had assured Moses that he would be successful and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Now, Moses is being honest with God.

Moses is trying to say, as politely as he can, “I don’t want to go.” Moses’ struggle is that he is being called by God, and he doesn’t like the invitation. God is calling Moses, asking him to participate in His unfolding will for Israel, and at the same, he is inviting Moses to live out God’s plan for Moses’ life.

Moses knows that the privilege and responsibility of this call makes it difficult, and of all the people in Israel, God decided to extend the call to Moses, an exile of forty years. The call is hard due to the nature of the call itself: Moses must go back to the place that he messed up in, convince the elders of Israel that he heard from God, who was seemly silent, and suggest that He is now ready to deliver the Israelites, in the face of the powerful Pharaoh.

Moses’ response is, “God I don’t want to go. You need to send somebody else.”

The call of God is on every one of our lives. There is no such thing as being a child of God without a call. This calling is an invitation to exercise a theology of works: to give ourselves to a vocation. But, it is also more than that. To give our lives to God is more than a vocation. It is more about living united with God’s mission on the earth.

In this regard, we must avoid being like Moses, because in verse 14, God’s response to Moses’ reluctance was that “the Lord’s anger burned against Moses.” But, despite Moses’ many excuses, God’s mercy prevailed over his anger.

God’s call will out-grace our sin, out-grace our fear, and out-grace our rebellion. Even when we come to the end of the road and think that we have a “no” to stand on, God will still be there, pointing forward.

The sooner we know what God has called us to do and the sooner we surrender to His call, the more purposed and productive our lives will be. When we acknowledge that God has called us, the less frustrated we will be, and we will better understand the reasons for the events that unfold in our lives.

The call on our lives is going to win out. So, what do we gain by resisting? What do we gain by not wanting to discover what we are called to do?