Mat Ishbia was a walk-on basketball player for the 2000 NCAA National Champion Michigan State Spartans and bought the Phoenix Suns and Mercury in 2023. He says, “Everyone has a line within them, marking the spot where average ends and greatness begins. Ultimately, the difference between the two comes down to your work ethic and attitude. Those two things will always be in your control, regardless of what happens around you.”
The people who achieve greatness also make great choices over and over again. They consistently choose to do things their future self will thank them for.
The best of the best make choices that not only make them better, but make the world better, and they often have to do it while being doubted by the people they are trying to help.
Few historical figures embodied these characteristics like Moses, and while he definitely experienced his share of doubters, he consistently made choices that made the people around him better and left the world a better place.
Besides Jesus, Moses might be the most well-known person in the Bible. He was born to Jochebed and Amram, both from the tribe of Levi, when the children of Israel lived in Egypt as slaves. He was the youngest of three children, with a sister named Miriam and a brother named Aaron.
The Pharaoh of Egypt at the time was afraid of the Israelite slaves because they were growing in number and he felt they might challenge his power, so he ordered all the midwives to murder all Israelite boys when they were born.
To save him, Moses’s mother built a waterproof basket, put him inside, and let it float down the Nile River. Miraculously, Pharaoh's daughter found him, adopted him, and raised him, but Moses always knew he was a Hebrew Israelite.
When he got older, Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, and he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When the Pharaoh found out, he tried to have Moses killed, so he left Egypt and lived in the desert of Midian for 40 years, becoming a husband and a father.
Moses eventually came back to Egypt, and with God’s power, grace, and guidance, and with the help of courageous men like his brother Aaron and his assistant and military commander Joshua, Moses was able to lead the 2.1 million Hebrew Israelites out of Egyptian slavery, across the Red Sea, and into freedom.
Moses did many great things but 3 parts of Moses’s story stand out to me the most.
OVERCOMING FEAR
First, Moses didn’t even want the responsibility of leading the Israelites out of slavery to begin with. He had a speaking problem and didn’t think the people would listen to him, believe him, or follow him (Exodus 4).
Many of us, myself included, have our own limiting doubts.
There are many things that I have wanted to do but have let fear stop me. God didn’t let fear stop Moses. He pushed and encouraged him and helped him use the resources around him. God told Moses that he would speak through him, and told him to use his brother Aaron by speaking through him. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and if we look around at the people God has put in our lives, we figure out who can help us and how.
What is something you are struggling with, and who is someone in your life who might be able to help you?
OVERCOMING DOUBT AND NON-BELIEF
Second, the same people that Moses was able to lead out of slavery doubted him every step of the way. That doubt, non-belief, and lack of faith extended what should have been an 11-day journey into a 40-year journey for the Israelites. The first doubt came when Pharaoh originally let them go free but changed his mind and started chasing after them in Exodus 14, trapping them at the Red Sea. The Israelites were so afraid that they told Moses they would have rather served the Egyptians as slaves than die in the wilderness, but Moses said to them, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
God then split the Red Sea in half, allowing the Israelites to pass over the dry land, and when the Egyptian army tried to follow them, God made the seas collapse on them, killing them all.
But that wasn’t the last time they doubted Moses and God.
On the 15th day of the 2nd month of their journey, the Israelites came to the Wilderness of Sin, and they all complained to Moses and Aaron, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger (Exodus 16:3).”
God heard their complaints and told Moses He would feed them by raining bread down from heaven. But He told them He would test their faith by only giving them enough for each day - nothing more and nothing less. They were only allowed to take what they needed, and they had to trust and have faith that God would provide enough the next day and the day after.
GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES WHAT WE NEED
That was my 3rd takeaway - God always provides what we need and exactly when we need it.
Too often, I forget to do what I need to do now or today because I am looking at what I can or hope to do tomorrow. Stay present and focus on mastering what is in front of you today, and worry about what you need to do tomorrow, tomorrow.
PRAY | TRUST | OBEY
When Moses needed something from God, he asked Him, and He trusted that God would provide. Moses’s trust wasn’t perfect; he had his fears and doubts just like we all do. But Moses never stopped trusting and believing in God.
Despite all he did, Moses never got to live in The Promised Land. In Numbers 20, the Israelites complained again to Moses and Aaron, this time because they were thirsty. So God told Moses to speak to a rock and water would flow from it, but instead of just speaking to it, Moses yelled at the people and then hit the rock twice with his stick, and because of that,
God told him he would not bring them into the Promised Land.
Just before dying, God led Moses up to the top of Mount Nebo and showed him the Promised Land, and then Moses died.
Joshua took over for Moses as their leader, and their journey continued. Though Moses didn’t get to finish the job, he lived a full life and taught us how to pray, trust, and obey God. Because of his faith, he was able to overcome internal fear and external doubt. Because he continued to make good choices, he saved an entire nation.
SOMETHING(s) TO THINK ABOUT
1 - Fear is a normal human emotion, but the best of the best don’t let fear defeat them. When you feel fear, how do you find the courage to keep going by doing the next right thing?
2 - As leaders, we will face doubters and non-believers. How do you keep going when you know you have people doubting you?
3 - God is our provider. He has shown time and time again that he will give us what we need when we need it. How does this faith impact how you live and make decisions?
For a PDF version of this post, click here: Moses | Power Through Faith
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