JUNE 9 "KEEP YOUR HEART RIGHT"

         As Stephen recounts Israel's history, the story of Moses is definitely one to learn from.  At 40 years old Moses feels he is called to be Israel's deliverer. He fights and defends the Israelite against the Egyptian and the key phrase in this text is  "²⁵ Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not."  Moses didn't do this on some kind of ego trip or selfish ambition, it clearly states "they would realize God was using him" Moses is attributing what he is doing as a "call from God".  How many men & women have set out on a quest for God and have fallen flat on their faces? Surely Moses falls flat on his face...."²⁷ But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? ²⁸ Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday? ²⁹ When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons"

      Moses falls flat on his face and goes from feeling called by God to be a great deliverer to going into the desert, living a seclusive life and living as a basic nobody, living day to day with no specific purpose. And this is how must of us respond too when we step out with great expectations for God and fail. Screaming out to God and demanding He let you know why He let you fail/fall flat on your face is a futile exercise. God will never answer that question on this side of eternity. Although God has revealed much of himself to us through his word, he still very much remains a mystery and so why He allows this we don't know (although I'm sure many think they know).

    Decades later, when God does visit Moses, to get Moses to do what he had tried to do before, of course, like most of us, Moses, in as nice and excusable way possible, tells God NO! Churches are filled with men and women who once felt called to do great things for God, that failed, flopped, fell flat on their faces and now when God re-visits them, through a sermon, a word, a scripture or in a time of devotion, they makes excuses and say NO.

     The one thing Moses did do is keep his heart right with God.  He remained a man of principle and Holy, otherwise God would not have used him. So Moses, though confused, disappointed and discouraged in God, keeps his heart right and remains a Godly man. This is perhaps what differentiates Moses from others. We, when disappointed and facing failure in out attempts to step out for God, not only retreat, but we let all standards and moral principles fall by the waste side. Some even turn from God and become staunch opponents to the Faith. Moses, though he does withdraw, keeps his heart right and God is able to use him and bring to fruition those stirrings that God had originally put in his heart and Moses is able to become the greatest deliver in history, aside from Jesus Christ himself.

  In my opinion, the most encouraging Christian you can ever meet is one that you know that stepped out in faith, believing to be used by God and fell flat on his face, but yet when God calls and God stirs later on, steps out once again. This is truly amazing and the most encouraging example we can ever have of a believer in Jesus Christ. He/She goes out once again, with no more guarantees than the first time, we the thought of failure raging in the back of the mind, even greater than the first time, yet he or she steps out regardless. This is exactly what Moses does and begins failing right from the start, again, but this time keeps responding to God's promptings, keeps going back and eventually becomes the man of God that he was created to be.

     If you truly want to be used by God than you will have to be willing to allow yourself to be showcased as a failure and allow yourself to be humbled far more than you would ever want or even imaginably conceive; this is the cost and if you won't pay the cost you will never see, what God has put in your heart, come to pass. Jesus warned over and over again, "you'd better count the cost!"