Episode Details

Does God ever get frustrated with us? Is there ever a point where our loving heavenly Father gets angry with his girls? Yes – but it’s likely not over the things you’ve been worried about.

We screw things up. We fail to get it right. We struggle. We fall short. These are the things we worry about within ourselves, so we continually dismiss ourselves. And let’s be clear – that’s not what God is upset over.

Girl, he knows you struggle – he created you to need him. He knows you fail – he forgave you before the first misstep. You can get over all of that, because God certainly has.

So, what is God upset over? When does he look at you with anger? It’s not when you’re unable – it’s when you’re UNWILLING.

The unwilling mind that continually makes excuses reveals the unwilling heart that simply DOESN’T WANT TO. You don’t want to be the one God chooses. You don’t want to be the one he sends. You don’t want to be the one called to do that work. And really you don’t want to be available because you don’t want to change. You don’t want to be uncomfortable.

This is where God grows angry with Moses. Moses didn’t want to be the one because he didn’t want to leave his comfortable life. He preferred to stay exactly where he had been hiding for 40 years. Why? Because there he was safe. No one hated him. No one was hunting him. His days were predictable and controllable. I wake up and I do the same things every day and I go to bed every night in the same way. Moses had a sense of control over his simple life with his family and the sheep. He was unwilling to give up his comforts, but ultimately he was really unwilling to give up control.

Is that you? You don’t want to be uncomfortable. And you certainly don’t want to be UNcertain. You need a sense of control, of knowing what’s going to happen and how it’s all going to work out. So any hint of discomfort, you just dismiss yourself. Any uncertain loose ends you’ve tied into knots that hold you steady (and stuck). You’re driven by a desire to control it all far more than a desire to follow God in it.

Ugly truths we don’t talk about. It’s easy to paint it pretty and declare we’re being faithful where we are with humility and perseverance … but sometimes when you chip through that paint you find an unwilling spirit to do anything different.

And THAT is what frustrates God. This is what gets him angry with his girls. Maybe you’re not unable, you’re really unwilling.

The Lord tells Moses to return to Egypt and lead his people to freedom. He’s promised to be with him. He’s promised his hand of victory over them. He’s even shown him 2 very clear miracles to give him confidence in God’s personal power over this mission. And here’s what happens next – Exodus 4:10, “But Moses pleaded with the Lord, ‘O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I have never been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.'”

Moses had an insecurity. Ultimately he didn’t think he had anything good enough to say to the Israelietes to convince them to leave, or to the Egyptians to convince them to let his people go. So he points out his inadequacy to God.

God didn’t get mad about it. He understood Moses’ fear. He understood that he felt inadequate for such a huge job. And here’s God’s response to Moses, verses 11-12, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

How awesome is that? God reassures Moses. Moses, I made you exactly as I wanted you. If you can’t do something it’s because I wanted to do something different through you. Remember what God says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My power works best in weakness.” God knows how he created Moses, and he knows if there’s a problem with his ability to speak – that’s just room for