S82P1 – The beauty of the call: Moses

Exo. 2:5-8

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, and her maidens walked along the river’s bank; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. And she took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a wet-nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.

God has called me to a number of things which were a complete surprise to me.  I recall having an incredible desire to go into the international mission field, and then God opened the door and called me forth to take a number of trips.  I can remember sitting in a Sunday service and thinking of how awesome it would be if I could preach like that.  Before I knew it, God was opening the door for me to teach congregations as well.  In each of those instances I feel like I can pinpoint a moment of calling.  However, if I think about it a little more, I can see that God called me long before any of those instances.  There was a time as a very young boy when death seemed imminent.  I recall a specific moment when God grabbed me from its clutches and back to life.  That is when I feel God truly called me to all of those later things because they would not have been possible otherwise.

The story of Moses paints an interesting picture for us.  The wheels which God had to set in motion in order for him to fulfill his calling of delivering God’s nation Israel began turning before his moment of birth. Pharaoh had a plan to drown all of the sons of Israel.  When Moses was born, his parents had a choice to make.  They could obey this law and allow their son to die, or they could defy authority and save the child. At a moment in which Moses should have been thrown into the river he was placed their gently.  What could have been a moment of death became a moment of new life when he was only several months old. We do not read the words of God calling that child on that day, but I think it is clear that that was his moment of calling.  That was when God placed his finger on his son and spared him so that he could go on to fulfill his work for the kingdom.

It just makes sense for us to think of someone’s moment of calling as a conversation, as a statement of some kind from above.  When the word of God comes upon a person and gives that direction that seems like an obvious calling.  I think if we look into things a little deeper we might find that often times God’s plan becomes manifest well before any words are spoken.  He shifts things into place, He opens some doors and closes others, He speaks to the hearts of certain influential people. God laying the groundwork of people, places and circumstances before calling his child is all part of that calling.  He does so much more than we know just so that He can include us in his plan and his work.  Father, thank You for calling us to work alongside You, and thank You for putting all the pieces together so that this work can be completed.