Equipped to Serve
Friday’s Verse:
From Exodus 6:30 ESV
But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”
Why would anyone listen to me?
That’s a thought that sometimes cascades through my mind as I prepare a sermon. Before standing in a pulpit, I wasn’t the best of people. I used not-so-nice language at times, and while doing so, my opinions of others weren’t the nicest. So why would anyone listen to my preaching when I say “listen to God and hold your tongue?”
Not to compare myself to Moses, but we’re in the same boat. He was a Hebrew by birth, but an Egyptian by lifestyle. He wondered why any Hebrew would listen to anything he said. Moses looked at himself and saw a reason to doubt. His speech did not seem adequate; Pharaoh seemed far too powerful; and Israel’s suffering had already made hope difficult. So Moses asked the question many of us ask in quieter words: Who would listen to me?
The Lord’s answer was not that Moses was naturally persuasive, eloquent, or fearless. God did not rest His promise on Moses’s ability. He rested it on His own Word: “I am the Lord” (Exodus 6:2). Moses would speak because God had spoken first.
We too may feel poorly equipped to speak of Christ—to a family member, a neighbor, a discouraged friend, or even to ourselves. Our words may feel clumsy. We may fear rejection or believe that no one will care. Yet the saving power is not in our polish or personality. It is in the Gospel: Christ crucified and risen for sinners.
God still works through ordinary, weak, hesitant voices. Through the Scriptures, through the preached Word, through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, He creates and sustains faith. The question is not finally whether we are impressive enough to be heard. The question is whether Christ’s Word will accomplish His purpose—and He promises that it will.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, when I feel inadequate and wonder who would listen, remind me that Your Word is powerful and true. Forgive my fear and self-doubt. Give me humble courage to confess Your grace, trusting that You work through weak servants for the sake of Your Kingdom. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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