Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication

by Charles R. Swindoll

Through the years, it has been my observation that most of the world’s great people have been lonely people. Many of the artists and artisans of the world, those who have left us a legacy of their art and music, have been people

of solitude and loneliness. Some of the world’s greatest leaders have been people who lived lonely lives.

betrayed. Through it all, he would stand alone. How could he do it? How could he endure it? He had been trained to handle it. He had graduated from God’s school of the desert with a major in solitude.

God must break through several hard, exterior barriers in our lives before He can renovate our souls.

What are those resistant layers in our hearts, and how does He break through to that hidden part? First, He finds pride. And He uses the sandpaper of obscurity to remove it ever so gradually.

Then He finds us gripped by fear—dread of our past, anxiety over our present, and terror over what may lie ahead—and He uses the passing of time to remove that fear. We learn that things aren’t out of hand at all; they’re in

His ...

He next encounters the barrier of resentment—the tyranny of bitterness. He breaks down that layer with solitude. In the silence of His presence, we gain a fresh perspective, gradually release our cherished rig...

Finally, He gets down to the basic habits of living, so close to our inner person, and there He brings discomfort and hardship to buff away that last layer of resistance. Why? So ...

being. “Our dross to consume . . . our go...

Something painful happened to me. This is how I met it: I was quiet for a while with the Lord, and then I wrote these words for myself: First, He brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest. Next, He will keep me here in His love,

and give me grace as His child. Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He needs to bestow. Last, in His good time He can bring me out again—how and when only He knows. Let me say I am here, first, by God’s appointment; second, in His keeping; third, under His training; fourth, for His time.”

Do you ever find yourself saying something like this? “Lord, I give You my life, but I’m weary to death of this irritation, this person, this circumstance, this uncomfortable situation. I feel trapped, Lord. I want relief—I must have relief! And if You don’t bring it soon . . . well, I’ve had it. I feel like walking away from it all.”

Think about it. Father Abraham was a liar. He uttered blatant lies on more than one occasion to save his skin. But even after he lied, he came to be known as the “friend of God,” an intimate of the Almighty. With a “broken piñion,” Abraham soared higher than he (or perhaps anyone else) had ever been before.

Jacob was a chiseler and a cheat who talked his own twin brother out of his birthright. What a sneaky, despicable thing to do! Yet even though he was a deceiver, God lifted Jacob to

such heights that his old name couldn’t even contain the glory; he was given the new name of “Israel.” So ...

Every man, woman, and child in that great metropolis donned sackcloth, including the animals.

After he had fled from God, rebelling against God’s clearly-stated will, that old prophet had all kinds of broken piñions (and wet ones, too). Yet God said, “Jonah, I still want to use you. Let’s get back on track.” And Jonah went on to lead a spiritual awakening that shook the ancient world.

John Mark had a similar, if less dramatic, turna...

on the apostle Paul and went home in the middle of a crucial missionary enterprise. Paul was ready to write the young man off as a bad investment. But not God. Mark came back into the service of Christ with a roar. He authored the second gospel, the one tha...

You see, old Hezekiah Butterworth’s proverb may be good for birds of the sky, but it’s not good for men and women of God, because God doesn’t deal with His servants in that way. As a matter of fact, even though it may sound like a maverick idea, God seems to prefer using people with broken piñions.

I qualify for His service, just as I am, failures and all. And so do you. No matter what your past may have been, the future is brighter than you can imagine. Why? Because our God specializes in using broken vessels. That’s His preferred plan.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Do you know what an earthen vessel is? It’s nothing more than a clay pot. A “common, earthenware jar,” as J. B. Phillips renders it. That’s a reference to our bodies and our abilities in the strength of our flesh. That is all you and I have to offer God . . . a pot. A perishable container.

“We’re all clay pots, and all of us are being molded. Only some are moldier than others!”

To tell you the truth, it isn’t the condition of the pot that’s most important. What’s important is the treasure inside—the light and glory of Christ’s salvation.

Moses, after his major, life-shattering failure and all those years of obscurity that followed, certainly must have felt like an unusable vessel.

At that moment, I don’t believe he had the foggiest idea that God was in the bush. He was simply curious, as any of us would have been.

That man came to know Jesus Christ that very day. He pushed a tape at random into the cassette deck, and the words spoke exactly to where he was in life. He’d stared death eyeball to eyeball, and now here was this message that offered him eternal life. That was a burning bush in that man’s life. His life changed forever because of that encounter.

He could not—he would not—walk away from that burning bush the same man.

Mark it down, things do not “just happen.” Ours is not a random, whistlein-the-dark universe. There is a God-arranged plan for this world of ours, which includes a specific plan for you. And through every ordinary day and every extraordinary moment, there is a God who constantly seeks you.

He doesn’t speak vocally from heaven, shouting down His Word at you. He uses His Book, He uses His people, and He uses events in your life.

And through the blending of those unusual events, He says, “Listen to Me. Heed this burning bush. Pay attention, and I

will speak to you. Answer My call, and I ...

Frankly, in this rushed, frantic world of ours, that doesn’t happen very often. All that is needed is a hushed spirit and a listening heart. Moses possessed ...

When. The Hebrew word means “at the same time.” That goes back to verse 3, where Moses said, “I must turn aside.” When did God speak to Moses? At the same moment when he turned aside. Now that’s simple, isn’t it? Moses stopped his forward motion, stepped aside from his responsibilities for only a few brief seconds and headed in another direction. He moved toward the event that had captured his attention.

Believe it or not, that’s all God wanted to hear. It’s still true today. That’s all He wants to

hear from you when He speaks. Don’t kid yourself; He’s not impressed with you; He’s checking out your humility, your sensitivity, your availability. He’s looking for someone who will slow down long enough to check out a burning bush.

Give me your undivided attention. I want you to listen only to what I am saying right now. Separate yourself from every human thing.

Apparently, God saw this moment as so holy and precious that He wanted nothing between Moses and Himself. “Take those sandals off, Moses, and stand on the hot ground.”

Had it not been for God’s grace, not one of them would have accomplished anything worth remembering.

So God is saying, in effect, “Moses, I’m the God of men who have failed. I’m the God of ordinary men who have accomplished some extraordinary things in their lives.”

Moses had thought all that was behind him. He’d thought all the bridges had been burned. He thought he was going to live out his days pushing scrawny sheep around the rocks in Midian. Moses

If you’ve ever doubted the heart of God for His own, read these words until the Holy Spirit convinces you otherwise. “I have surely seen . . . ” “I have given heed to their cry . . . ” “I am aware of the sufferings . . . ” “I have come down to deliver . . . ”

The enemy of our souls wants you to think differently. God doesn’t care.He’s left you in this mess for so many months. How unfair! Those around you, those at work, your neighbors, live like the devil, and they’re making it fine. And here you don’t even have a job. You don’t even have enough to cover the credit card bills. What kind of God is that?

I know you feel overwhelmed, overloaded, pressed down. But believe Me, I am touched with your situation. And I have a plan! I am working out the details of your deliverance even now. Trust Me!”

The God of Jeremiah still

lives, and cares, and delivers.

What does it take to qualify as a bush that God will use? You have to be dried up and thorny. Okay, I qualify. You have to be dusty and dirty. All right, I’m there. You’ve got to be ordinary. Right. That’s me all over. What else, Lord?

I have reduced you to a simple love for Me. That’s all you have to offer now, Moses, and that is all I want.”

failure. Yet who ever said you and I had to succeed at everything we attempt? That’s an artificial standard set up by men, not by God. As we’ve already seen, failure, though a painful pedagogue, can be an outstanding instructor.