Thursday: Facing Insecurities
Read the Scripture and devotional either on your own or with your people (family, small group, roommates), and then come together for the discussion each day.
Exodus 4:1-17
1 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’?” 2Then 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. 17And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”
1 Corinthians 1:25-31
25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. 30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
As soon as Moses received the Lord’s instructions, he faced his own insecurities and doubts. He questioned whether he was able to participate, but his excuses were worthless before God.
As Christians, we many times look at Moses as a perfect and God-fearing man. The truth is Moses was a flawed human like all of us. When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery, Moses was terrified. He remembered all his insecurities and doubted that he could do what God was asking. His regular life seemed like a better option.
Yet God wanted more from Moses. He knew all the mistakes and shortcomings Moses had made in his life and still called him. God had designed a purpose for Moses’ life where doubt and feelings of worthlessness were covered by God’s sovereignty and grace. It was God that was going to do the work, but Moses was invited to be part of it.
In 1 Corinthians, we see it echoed that God’s plans are more powerful and wiser than any of our human thoughts, feeling, or actions. He has proven repeatedly that he likes to take what may be seen as foolish or powerless and use it to take down empires. He shows his sovereignty and grace by taking all the earthly standards and flipping them upside down. He shames those who call themselves perfect in earthly standards and glorifies those seen as nothing. The Bible is filled with characters the world would deem unworthy or foolish. Yet God sees through their mistakes and insecurities and sees their true heavenly purpose.
We must stop comparing ourselves to the world’s standards because we will always fall short. Our insecurities, our doubts, and even our failures will always be spotlighted in the earth’s empty promises and endless competition for power. These standards may make us hesitate when God calls us to do something. By leaning in on His glory, knowing He is the one who is wisdom and perfection, we are able to tune out of the earth’s story of who we are and tune in to who He has called us to be.
Just like Moses, we all have a divine purpose to live out while on earth. Whether it’s leading, teaching, serving, or supporting, we have a role to live. It is a purpose that God has perfectly crafted for our skills and abilities. However, just like Moses, we probably also have our insecurities. We feel that our pasts are too stained or that we aren’t good enough to fulfill what God calls us. Our insecurities and doubts stop or delay us from living out God’s mission.
We don’t need to see a burning bush or staff turned into a snake to know that God is calling us to do more in our lives. He is aware of every mistake we have made and every shortcoming we feel we have, but still invites us into His work. We must look past the insecurities and look to Him, just as Moses did, for our earthly assignment.
In the 1 Corinthians reading, we see Paul say that God is always wiser and more powerful than human plans. He turns the foolish into the wise, the powerless into the powerful, and those considered as nothing into those of importance. That passage also states that as He fills the gap of knowledge and power, Jesus is the one who made us right with God and His Kingdom. We no longer need to feel inadequate or that we are not enough, because the Lord has already made secure our place in the kingdom. Every doubt He can destroy and every insecurity He can overcome.
Discussion Questions
Where do your insecurities stop you or slow you down?
How does the gospel speak to our insecurities?
For your kids: What would stop you from saying yes to God?
(Parents, guardians, and leaders, be sure and step them through how the gospel speaks to their answers.)
Prayer Prompt
1 Corinthians 1 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
Praise God for His remarkable ways of working in the world, then humbly ask for the wisdom to submit to His plans when they seem so opposite of what we would do.