Daily Devotionals

PUT GOD IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT Week 1: Thursday

Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Exodus 4:31

If we are honest, many of us would say that obedience can be scary when God calls us to do something unfamiliar, uncertain, or difficult. Obedience seems scary when we do not feel equipped to do the hard thing that God has called us to do. The truth is, however, that each time we choose obedience, we learn that God always walks with us and works when we choose to obey the difficult commands that He has given us.

Moses learned that God honors our obedience. We left off yesterday in our story of Moses making excuses when God called him to go back to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved. He tried to come up with so many reasons why he should not be the one to rescue the Israelites. This is, however, not the end of his story. In the middle of his excuses, God gave Moses signs that He was God and He was with Moses. He also promised that Moses' brother Aaron would go with Moses and speak for him because Moses said that he was not "very good with words" (verses 10-14). Finally, Moses stopped making excuses, and he agreed to obey God and go to Egypt to demand that Pharaoh free the Israelites from slavery. He went to Egypt. Before he went to Pharaoh, He went to the Israelite people. He told them about His encounter with God at the burning bush, and the Israelites were convinced that God had sent him. In fact, "When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped" (verse 31). Ultimately, God used Moses to do exactly what He told Him to do. He used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. 

When Moses chose to trust and obey God instead of giving in to fear, God used him to do extraordinary things. When we obey God, He honors our obedience. If we step out and share our faith, He uses our words to have an impact, even if we do not see it at the moment. When we confess sins and say, "I am sorry," God works in our lives and the lives of the people we are apologizing to. In other words, God works when we choose to trust and obey Him and put Him in the driver's seat. Will you choose to obey and step out of the driver's seat?

Moving toward action

The heart of the matter when it comes to putting God in the driver's seat is trust. If we trust Him, we will obey Him and let Him lead. Say a prayer now to acknowledge God's power and control. Acknowledge your trust in His plan. Ask Him to help you trust Him enough to put Him in the driver's seat of your life.

Going Deeper

Going Deeper - Exodus 4:1-31

"But Moses protested again, "What if they won't believe me or listen to me? What if they say, 'The Lord never appeared to you'?"

2 Then the Lord asked him, "What is that in your hand?"

"A shepherd's staff," Moses replied.

3 "Throw it down on the ground," the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

4 Then the Lord told him, "Reach out and grab its tail." So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd's staff in his hand.

5 "Perform this sign," the Lord told him. "Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob-really has appeared to you."

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease. 7 "Now put your hand back into your cloak," the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

8 The Lord said to Moses, "If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. 9 And if they don't believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground."

10 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."

11 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? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say."

13 But Moses again pleaded, "Lord, please! Send anyone else."

14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 And take your shepherd's staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you."

18 So Moses went back home to Jethro, his father-in-law. "Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt," Moses said. "I don't even know if they are still alive."

"Go in peace," Jethro replied.

19 Before Moses left Midian, the Lord said to him, "Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died."

20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God.

21 And the Lord told Moses, "When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go. 22 Then you will tell him, 'This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 I commanded you, "Let my son go, so he can worship me." But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!'"

24 On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him. 25 But Moses' wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet[b] with the foreskin and said, "Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me." 26 (When she said "a bridegroom of blood," she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.

27 Now the Lord had said to Aaron, "Go out into the wilderness to meet Moses." So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he embraced him. 28 Moses then told Aaron everything the Lord had commanded him to say. And he told him about the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to perform.

29 Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together. 30 Aaron told them everything the Lord had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched. 31 Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped."