Just Do It...

I don’t usually do series with Rhema. Generally, the Lord gives me something for each week, but every now and then, He will keep me in a certain area. Last week, there was quite a reaction to the word about stretching. It led me to believe that there are a bunch of folks that are being stretched or called upon to start walking in some things that God has told them to do. So this morning as I was walking, I told God that I really needed a word for me. I was irritated, tired, and a bit frustrated with everything. I would like to share what came out of the exchange that the Lord and I had this morning.

So I don’t know about you but as God is taking me through this stretching process the main thing I feel is uncomfortable. It’s almost like waking up in a different world. I’m being asked to do different things, there are different people around me and everything is unfamiliar. All of the things I used to do aren’t working the same way and yet God is still expecting me to do more. So the question becomes how do you deal with the discomfort? As I am talking to God about this and really struggling with my attitude, He says to me ‘just do it’. What?! God, this is my life not a Nike commercial! What am I supposed to do with that? He said stop trying to figure everything out, all the whys and hows and just do what I said. If I brought you to it, I have equipped you for it.’ So, some of you might think I’m crazy but this is how it played out.

If you read last week’s entry, you will remember that God told Jeremiah that He had called him as a prophet to the nations before he was in his mother’s womb. Jeremiah wasn’t exactly feeling it but he went with it. God wants you to understand that what He is calling you to has been ordained from the beginning. Even though you feel out of place and out of sorts, it is all part of the process. Let’s look at another one of God’s mighty men, Moses. When Moses was born, there was a decree to kill every newborn Hebrew boy. The bible says in Exodus 1 that when Moses’s mother gave birth to him, she saw that he was beautiful and decided that she couldn’t kill him and hid him until she couldn’t anymore and put him the river. He was rescued by Pharoah’s daughter and raised as her own. He lived a great life until he kills an Egyptian and is forced to flee. There is a lot to that story in itself but it first shows that God has His hand in everything from the beginning. Even the hardest things you experience and the bad decisions that you make have a place in your story. Just do it…

Fast forward to Exodus 4, Moses is having a conversation with the Lord and he is not comfortable with where it is going. God has spoken through the burning bush, He has turned the staff into a snake, He has given Moses a skin disease on his hand and then healed it but Moses is still not signing up for the stretching. Sound like anyone you know? How many signs has God given you to move, to shift, to step out and you are still looking at Him in disbelief? But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”(Ex. 4: 10, NLT)  Moses is like you and me. He has come up with every excuse and every reason as to why he is not usable. But God’s answer to Moses is exactly what He said to me this morning. “Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”(Ex. 4: 11, NLT) You see? Just do it!

Now you might think that Moses went on and did what God said but nope. Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” God gets angry with Moses but gives him what he needs. “Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.  Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.  Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.  And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.” (Ex. 4: 14-17 NLT) I found this so interesting because if you know Moses story, you know that Aaron does stick with him and helps him throughout his life but Moses is the one to lead the people. God gave him what and who he needed but the work that was designed and purposed for Moses was carried out by Moses.

I know how it feels to be uncomfortable in the process. I know what it’s like to be given an instruction and doubt your ability to handle it. I cried out to God today because I know He wants me to do some things and frankly, I just don’t want to. But God has purposed me to carry out something that only I can do just as He has laid out some instructions for you. Sometimes it’s easier to rationalize and dissect the instruction until you think you feel better when instead you’re just delaying the process. Just do what He said. He will not leave you out there on your own. He will send you an Aaron, a Joshua, a Peter, a John. He will take care of you. Remember what Jesus said to the disciples that wanted to do other things before obeying His instruction.  He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9: 59 – 60, NLT) You’ve been called to duty. Are you ready to answer now? Just do it!

AMEN.