Late last year I received a summons to jury duty. I was notified that I had been legally drawn to serve as a juror for the Circuit Court for the upcoming term and that I would receive notice 1 week to 20 days prior to my day to appear. I was also informed that any request for an excusal must be in writing and must be submitted to a Circuit Court Judge for consideration. While provisions for excusal were included, the summons made it clear that requesting to be excused from service would not be granted if I simply did not want to serve due to personal preference or scheduling inconvenience. As stated in the summons, “The call to jury service is both a duty and a privilege of citizenship. Please accept our best wishes and congratulations.”
Any call to service presents a unique set of challenges and inconveniences, and the call to serve God in a particular manner is no different in this regard. Consider the example of Moses in Exodus 3-4. A Hebrew by birth, Moses had been saved from death by an Egyptian princess and raised as her own son. At age 40, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite slave mercilessly, and the act forced him to flee to the Sinai desert. Finding a home among the family of Jethro, he became a shepherd and tended flocks for the next 40 years. At age 80, while tending his flock, Moses heard God speak to him from a bush that was not being consumed even though it was on fire. From the bush Moses heard God say, “the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
Moses responded with a series of excuses. In answer to the call to approach the all-powerful leader of Egypt, Moses asked, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?” God’s answer was, “I will be with you.” Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" God proceeded to demonstrate to Moses His power, and showed Moses that he would perform incredible works through him. Finally, Moses stated, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." God replied, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." God also promised that Aaron, Moses’ brother, would help him as a spokesperson. God had a provision for every excuse!
God’s call to service comes to His servants is a variety of ways, with some calls appearing easier to answer than others. However, all calls to ministry present challenge and inconvenience. When God calls you or me to a particular ministry or action, it’s easy to respond with an excuse…but God has a provision for every excuse! It is the great privilege of every believer who has received God’s Son, Jesus, as Savior and Lord to follow Him into the world as participants in His mission, gifted by the Spirit for the task. In the words of the old saying, “where God guides, He provides,” and it is incredible to experience both His provision and the way He works through the likes of you and me as we answer His call in faith.
There was a television commercial years ago for a provider of cell phone service that ended with the question, “Can you hear me now?” God is always calling us to serve Him by His grace in ways both great and small. Can you hear Him now?
Comments