Finding Someone Better
In my time in church, I would hear testimonies of mighty men and women of God who were not God’s first choice. Others did not pick up the mantle, and thus, they were then picked. This would put the fear of God in me. Would one of the mess-ups lead God to choose someone else? I wanted to follow through with the ‘yes’ I had just said, but at every turn, I was afraid I would mess it up. Having a healthy fear of the Lord is important in the life of a believer, but it didn’t lead me to Him; it led me away. This insecurity bred a fear that God would find someone better. In my failure or struggle, the carrot of being used in the kingdom would be hanging a little further away, and unless I got my act together, I would lose the call that God placed on my life. Constantly worrying that God was looking for someone who would sacrifice more, or who would work harder, or who would do it better, or… the list could go on. Is God looking for someone better, or is he dedicated to seeing me become what he intended me to be? Is He a Father who will stick around, or is He just looking for a better kid to invest in?
I think we can all relate to the feeling of inadequacy.
Never being the one noticed nor being the one picked. You weren’t the one to make friends easily, or if you did, you were afraid that they would see your inadequacies and leave you. Maybe there has been a prophetic word spoken over your life, and you feel completely unable to achieve it. Thinking maybe the Lord chose the wrong person. Or you have been stuck in a sin pattern seeing no way out, and you think you have disqualified yourself from the prophetic word. So many ‘maybes,’ but that feeling of inadequacy is the same. You want to be there, but you aren’t and that is crushing. Because of these shortcomings, perhaps you find yourself thinking, “God, have you left me? Have you abandoned me? Did you find someone new who would do it better?”
I think the best person to answer those questions is the one who gave the call in the first place.
See, the feelings and questions don’t stop coming at us. The key is identifying if they are true or not. If they are true, then we need to understand where we go from here, but if not, then why are we giving those lies the time of day? Answering a key question about the character of God and the way he deals with his people is important.
Is God the type to give up on his people because of failure? I think the story of Israel speaks for itself. You could read any one of the prophets, and they speak of the heart of the Father to redeem and reconcile a rebellious and stiff-necked people. They constantly messed up, yet God is still not finished with them. Or let's get a bit more specific: Abraham takes the promises of God into his own hands and gets his maidservant pregnant, causing multiple problems. He clearly messed up, yet God doesn’t seem to overlook his initial faith or plan for his family. What about Moses? He murdered someone trying to help the people of Israel.
Did God, in the wake of their disobedience, say, “Oh, well, I knew you would fail, and I had been looking for your replacement, so thanks for trying. Just pass on your call to the next guy on your way out.”
You might read that thinking, well, of course not. Then stop thinking that about you. Yes, we have failures, and in the life of Moses, we see that Moses' direct disobedience stopped Him from entering into some of what God intended, but God didn’t leave Him. God didn’t take back everything that He had done with him, and God didn’t stop using him. In Numbers 21, we see the story of when the people of Israel complained about God and Moses, and God sent serpents to bite them. They only needed to look at the bronze snake on the pole to be healed. This happened after Moses’ disobedience, and we see wars being won, Balaam blessed Israel. My point is that God’s grace wasn’t spent when Moses disobeyed; God continued to be gracious towards him, continuing to use him, and importantly, he wasn’t rejected from being a part of the people of God. God didn’t find someone better to replace Moses; God wasn’t waiting for Moses’ failure, and God didn’t abandon Moses in his sin. Hebrews 12:6 says that God disciplines those he loves and calls sons.
The fact that Moses experienced the discipline of the Lord showed his legitimacy as a son.
I want to tell you today that Jesus hasn’t left you at all. He is right there in the midst of the struggle, the pain, and all the feelings. God continued to work through Moses for the good of Moses and the Israelites. Despite their shortcomings and failures, He didn’t abandon them. On top of that, the amazing truth is that in the new covenant, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in the believer. So not only do we have His favor on us as chosen people, but we have His power to walk in His ways. God’s desire is that you finish the race He set before you. God isn’t looking for someone better, more eloquent, or dedicated. He calls us to abide and obey. So, if you are down, stand up again and spend time with Him. Don’t allow the failure of yesterday to stop you and stunt you. Repent and retreat back to his arms and spend time there. Allow his words to wash over you. Allow his truth to speak hope to you. Allow the remembrance of the cross, his sacrifice and payment of sin, to clear your conscience. Allow the power of the Spirit displayed in the resurrection to give hope for better days and triumph where failure seems to be.
