The God of Ordinary Men

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Monday, June 15, 2015

So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
— Exodus 3:4

Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California, shares the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of 19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014. | (Photo: rever Hoehne for Harvest Ministries)

As far as we know, Moses hadn't heard from God for 40 years. Then God spoke to him and called him. And how did He do it? Through a burning bush. It was not uncommon for a bush to catch fire. A bolt of lightning could have caused that. But Moses had never seen a bush that perpetually burned. God was doing something out of the ordinary that got Moses' attention. And then He spoke.

Notice what God said to Moses: "I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). When we hear those names, we think of them as great patriarchs of the faith—and indeed they were. But let's consider each one for a moment. Abraham certainly was a man of God, but he had serious lapses of faith. Isaac was blessed, but he often didn't listen to the Lord. And Joseph's faux pas were legendary. Yet these men were powerfully used by God.

It's as though God was saying, "Moses, I am the God of men who have failed. I am the God of ordinary men who have accomplished extraordinary things. Moses, if I can use Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then I can surely use you. Are you up for that? Are you ready to go? I am aware of what is happening to my people in Egypt."

Moses was 80 years old. That is past retirement age. Yet God was saying, "You are just where I wanted you to be. You are just the man that I want."

It seems that God goes out of His way to choose the most unlikely candidates. God sees your potential, even when you don't. God sees you for what you will become in the days ahead.

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