Your Availability or Ability

Date: 21-July-2012

Venue: Toongabbie Prayer Group

When the Lord sets His eyes on you, He will do whatever He wants to accomplish His purpose in and through you. We see this unfold time and again in several examples in the Bible. In this study, we will look at one particular aspect in Moses. I am sure many of us are familiar with the story of Moses, adopted into the royal family, grew up in the Egyptian palace, trained by the royal regiment and dined the finest food there was in Egypt. On the other hand, his older brother Aaron and his sister Miriam were living in Egypt in slavery. Moses was separated from the rest of the siblings by diving plan. God was in fact grooming the future leader of the Israelites in Moses.

When Moses was about forty years old, he left the palace to follow God’s direction. However he had a weakness, which was his inability to speak fluently, he stammered (Exod 3:10 & 4:10,12). Moses lacked confidence in persuading Pharaoh to free the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, so he argued with God to send someone else to stand up before Pharaoh and seek the freedom to the Israelites. 

Insight: When we allow God to work in our lives, he looks for our availability and not our ability.

Aaron was a gifted speaker; we know from the Bible he was the first high priest. God used Aaron’s strength in Moses’ weakness. Moses was a gifted leader but God insisted on using Moses as a leader while Aaron became Moses’ mouthpiece (Ex 4:14-16)

Insight; God does not give you gifts unless your characters permits to excel in it.

Even though Aaron was the older brother of Moses, he humbled himself before God to support his younger brother to be a leader while he became just his mouthpiece. God knows our capabilities. For instance, God knew that Moses was to become the deliverer of the Israelites from Egypt and Aaron had to use his gifts to fulfill God’s agenda. Too often we see and hear in families that elder siblings become driven by ego and then they intervene in God’s plan for the other siblings. Here we see how Aaron worked in conjunction with what God had already planned instead of arguing about leadership or his claim on the first born right to inheritance.

Insight: If you are an older sibling, the right to use your gifts over your younger sibling should only come at God’s choosing and not yours. Instead of becoming bitter and narrow minded, it is always good to know it is God who decides who is capable to carry out his work. It is God who has shaped us with the unique DNA that is so essential to carry out his agenda.

Aaron no doubt was humble to say yes for a higher calling but he too failed like most of us have. He suffered from the murmurings of the people (Exod 16:2 & num 14:2). The man who had great oratory skills is now persuaded by the people to make a golden calf and worship it (Exod 32:4). Aaron was now the leader of Israel while his younger brother Moses went to Mount Sinai to be with the Lord. Surely Aaron’s lack of leadership is evident here. One may argue that the murmurings of the hundreds and thousands of people may have subdued him, while others may say that he was forced into making an image as the ‘god’ of Israelites.  Whether or not Aaron has to be blamed here is not the argument but we see time and again the Lord is just in honoring his children. He is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9) and when we seek His forgiveness He remembers our sins no more (Heb 8:12)

Insight: There is no sin known to God that is unforgivable

Aaron is always remembered for his calling. Many years later, David remembers the union of the brothers to that of anointing with oil (Psalms 133:2-3). The Israelites looked up to Aaron with high esteem, the ‘entire’ household of Israel mourned for his death (Num 20:29) for 30 days.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to humble myself and be ready to use my gifts to the fullest for your glory. Instead of being like someone else, help me be what you have made me to be. If I am skilled in encouraging, help me to encourage others and if it is in giving, help me to give. Do not let me be driven with self-interest and self-praise.  I want to learn from Aaron to make myself available to the higher calling. This I ask in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Amen