Preschool
God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1).
God Prepares a Man
Memory Verses
Primary
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
Junior
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea (Psalm 46:1-2).
Background Scripture: Exodus 2-4
Lesson Scripture: Exodus 3:1-10
Introduction
The Christian who assumes his purpose is merely to make it to heaven is not fully acquainted with the will of God. It is not necessary that we fully understand God’s plan for us, but it is vital that we know Him. As long as we have our own intentions or agendas, regardless of how well-intentioned they seem, there will always be a certain emptiness in our endeavors.
God prepares men by redeeming them. Our sanctification is part of his continuing work of redemption and is necessary if we are to be of service to Him. The lives of many men in the Bible demonstrate how God molds and shapes ordinary men into useful vessels. Although God worked with each of them accordingly, the one common trait they had was availability.
If God would ask each of us if we wanted Him to do a work of preparation in us, the universal answer would surely be “Yes,” but how many would want to wait for a better sometime?
Key Verse
And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14).
Lesson Scripture
Exodus 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Studying the Lesson
It has been said that Moses spent forty years in Egypt as “somebody” just to flee to Midian for forty years to become “nobody” so he could learn for forty years what God could do with “anybody.” We do not know a lot about Moses’s early years other than what we read in Acts 7:22: “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” It appears he was being prepared for a role in government, but we see the stirring of God in his heart that would change his course. “And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel” (Acts 7:23). God’s plan for Moses was unfolding from the time he was born, and He arranged his life so that Moses would be where God wanted him to be. God knew his purpose for Moses, what would be needed to prepare him for it, and when he would be ready.
The training Moses received in Egypt was likely beneficial, but it was not adequate for God’s purpose. Human reasoning would have lead him to believe it best to advance God’s cause from within the power structure of the nation, but God’s preparation of Moses the leader would require a school far from Egypt’s palaces.
Fearing Pharaoh’s wrath for the slaying of the Egyptian, Moses fled to Midian. It was here that he began a life of obscurity tending sheep. Egypt could train him to be a scholar, a statesman, or a soldier, but it was in this wilderness that God was going to prepare a servant leader.
We can only speculate what he experienced the forty years prior to meeting God at the burning bush, but we see the impulsive and intemperate Moses becoming humble and meek. Undoubtedly, the hardships of living in this harsh environment helped tear down his sense of self-reliance. In the solitude of the desert, Moses would have opportunity to consider God and meditate on his plan. It is here that God recognizes a man who is ready for his work. He meets with him, calls him to a special mission, and makes Himself known to him in an extraordinary way.
Practical Truths for Today
Man, by nature, is impatient and wants to get where he is going quickly. A restive spirit is evidenced in different ways. This attitude can affect the Christian, and it can be difficult to wait on God’s timing. The temptation to jump ahead of the Lord is often present, but God is patient and is never hurrying as He prepares hearts. One of the greatest hindrances to his work in us is a misplaced self-confidence, which really is a lack of trust in Him. Much of God’s preparation comes in the form of tearing down the facade of self-reliance that we have built so that all we have left to lean on is Him.
One of the most difficult yet greatest lessons a Christian must learn is to let God be God. The greatest sin may be be the heart that says, “I can manage my own life.” By nature we want to exercise some control over our lives. God’s great purpose will never be fruitful in us until we grasp that everything we are, have, and do is his. We are in his service, doing his work by his power and for his glory. It must be of, to, and through Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul disclaimed any personal interest in his ministry when he wrote to the Corinthians, “But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty” (2 Cor. 4:2). His life proved that he had no personal ambition or agenda and did not demand that others adopt his personal convictions.
God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. Satan and self seek to disqualify us. We all make mistakes in life, but we do not have to let the poor decisions of the past define who we are, who we will become, and how God can use us in the future. Some may feel incapable of being used by God because they cannot measure up to the gifts and talents that they covet in others. We must allow God to be our everything, making ourselves available to Him for whatever ways He sees fit to use us. Our greatest ability is our availability.
God’s preparation in us is not typically accomplished on a road of ease. He places all of us in different situations to teach us, reprove us, and strengthen us according to our need. Some experiences are painful, and we often learn our greatest lessons through difficulty. Some may enter a wilderness experience in order to have their sin purged. In whatever situation we find ourselves, we must trust God, knowing He has a plan and a purpose. “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Heb. 12:10). “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4).
Questions
- Is it possible that God’s preparation in us is hindered by us being overly concerned with his preparation in others?
- In the middle of a struggle, how we can keep our focus on God’s purpose and not on the struggle itself?
- How do we make ourselves available to God?
- Do we sometimes prolong God’s work of preparation? In what ways?
- How can I work together with God in his preparation of me? In others?
- What are some of the shortcuts we sometimes try to take that hinder God’s preparation?
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).