Exodus 4:10-13 New American Standard Bible 1995
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been [a]eloquent, neither [b]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am [c]slow of speech and [d]slow of tongue.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, now [e]send the message by whomever You will.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Perhaps we have heard of Roger Bannister.
For years, experts said that it was impossible for a human to run a mile in less than four minutes.
And they appeared to be right, that is until 1954, when a young medical student proved them all wrong.
They had told him his heart would explode, but young Roger didn’t believe that.
He believed he could, and even had a special pair of lightweight leather shoes made to help him run.
When the shoemaker asked him how long he would need them, he responded “not very long…less than 4 minutes!”
That’s the power of believing in yourself!
You won’t always hear it from the pulpit, you wont always hear or have it taught in any bible study but I deeply believe that God expects each of us to develop a healthy measure of self assurance, self-confidence, self esteem, of self worth.
When God spoke miraculously from a burning bush and called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, listen to how the aged Moses first responded:
Exodus 4:10 New American Standard Bible 1995
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been [a]eloquent, neither [b]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am [c]slow of speech and [d]slow of tongue.”
Exodus 4:13 New American Standard Bible 1995
13 But he said, “Please, Lord, now [a]send the message by whomever You will.”
We might think God would be impressed by those humble responses; that Moses was showing himself to be truly humble. But we would be wrong!
The anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.
Exodus 4:14 New American Standard Bible 1995
Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece
14 Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that [a]he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
Why was that? Because he didn’t believe in himself, even when God clearly did.
Exodus 4:11-12 New American Standard Bible 1995
11 The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.”
God expected Moses to have faith that God is all he needed to succeed; and God likewise in these modern times expects us to respond in faith and belief as well.
When we don’t believe in ourselves, we are diminishing and questioning the quality of God’s handiwork.
Psalm 139:14-18 New American Standard Bible 1995
14 I will give thanks to You, for [a]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [b]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
It’s not a sin to believe in yourself; it’s an expectation of the Creator God who formed you in His own image and likeness, filled you with His Holy Spirit, and has perfectly equipped you to perform every good work created for you to walk in. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:1.)
In truth, we ought to believe it is a sin to not believe in yourself!
There are many Christians who think they are being humble, but they are simply listening to the voice of the adversary.
They are deceived about their identity in Christ, thinking they are just inadequate, insignificant, and therefore unable to succeed.
And because they see a predominance of failure in their future, such a measure of failure they don’t, wont even try to do the things God has called them to do.
In order to develop the faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6), we should first look into God’s mirror at ourselves and hear His voice on the matter:
James 1:22-25 New American Standard Bible 1995
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his [a]natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, [b]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but [c]an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in [d]what he does.
When you read and meditate on God’s Word, you will learn to hear the voice of God speaking to you, giving you a true picture of who you really are in Christ:
1. Understand That We Are All Originals and Unique
Ephesians 2:8-10 New American Standard Bible 1995
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10 New Living Translation
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
What is a masterpiece?
The very best work of an artist!
It also describes a piece of art that earns recognition; a work of genius, one of a kind.
In other words, you are not an accident or an experiment, you are a work of genius that deserves recognition.
Anything that is a duplicate does not have the same value as an original, and does not qualify as a masterpiece.
What’s the point?
In order for you to truly believe in yourself, you need to celebrate your God created uniqueness as His masterpiece!
Allow your significance and originality to define you, not confine you.
Discover your uncommon message born from your unique purpose and begin to increase the significance of that message.
Since you are God’s creation and not an accident, your very existence on this planet is proof that the world needs that special something that God gave to you – so celebrate it, as God does – and never compare yourself with anyone else.
When you compare yourself against others, your self perception will become skewed; you will either get an unrealistic sense of inferiority, or an equally unrealistic idea of superiority – neither of these circumstances is ever true.
Your measure of success is not how you are doing compared to someone else, it’s how you are doing compared to what God intends for you to accomplish!
2. Understand That You Are Priceless
Many people think that the value of a work of art is determined by what others will pay for it.
There is some measure of truth in that, but I think the better understanding is that the true value of a thing is determined by what the master artist is willing to sell it for!
If someone is offered millions, even billions, for the purchase of a particular piece of art, say the Mona Lisa, and yet says, Sorry, not for sale, never for sale, then that item is actually absolutely priceless to them.
And here is the truth about us – when sin entered the world, Satan’s deception stole us away from our Father, the Master.
But there is even more deeper truth we can witness to from Peter who lost all of his confidence in himself when he refused to publicly acknowledge being with Jesus in the courtyard three times, looked into Jesus’ eyes and so betrayed Him. (Matthew 26:69-75)
Then Peter got his confidence back as he shared some very intimate time with the resurrected Jesus by the seashore. (The Love Motivation – John 21:15-17)
Peter admonished the followers to “Prepare your minds for action, be sober in spirit and fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, to not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, … but like the Holy One … be holy yourselves also in all your behaviors …” because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
God does not lack any confidence in Himself and neither did Jesus, His Son.
Peter recognized that self confidence which Jesus publicly exhibited as he wrote to the Jewish followers the ultimate ransom required for our return would be our testimony, the testimony of the priceless blood of the Son of God himself:
1 Peter 1:13-19 New American Standard Bible 1995
13 Therefore, [a]prepare your minds for action, [b]keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace [c]to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As [d]obedient children, do not [e]be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but [f]like the Holy One who called you, [g]be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not [h]redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
In other words, God said to the enemy… we are all priceless and not for sale!
Yes, we are all a 100% priceless, original creation.
When we start seeing ourselves as such, we will too start believing in ourselves!
3. Understand We Are Each Bursting with Potential
Potential is a dormant ability, reserved power, untapped strength, unused success, hidden talents, and uncapped capability -it’s all you could ever be, including what you have yet to become and the things you have not yet done.
It’s the length of your reach, before you have begun to stretch; it’s how far you can go, before you’ve even started to pack for the trip, topped off the gas tank!
Potential is unexposed ability and latent power, and you are overflowing with it.
Moreover, you are all full of max potential the Kingdom of God is desperately waiting to experience.
John 14:10-14 New American Standard Bible 1995
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. 12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
How can we begin to understand and access our potential?
Realize the potential of a thing is related to its source.
We know that a tree can never be more than a tree, because it comes from a tree; a dog can never be more than a dog, because it comes from a dog, etc.
In other words, the potential of a thing is directly related to its source.
In fact, it is the source of a thing which ultimately determines the capacity of its potential.
Fortunately, the book of Genesis tells us who our source is:
Genesis 1:26-28 New American Standard Bible 1995
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [a]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [b]sky and over every living thing that [c]moves on the earth.”
Knowing this then, that the potential of a thing is related to its source, and that our source is God, we know that our potential is actually unlimited because our source is unlimited!
To access your potential, you must stay connected to your Source!
A grape vine is an interesting plant.
The vine, which is the thick wooden part running from the ground up the pole, is the only part of the plant that contains life ability.
None of the life of the plant is found in the branches, or those little green tendrils on the side with the grapes hanging from them.
If you were to break one of those green branches off and plant it in the ground, it would wither and die because there is no life ability in it.
Each small branch depends on life flowing up from the vine, to survive.
And as Jesus said:
John 15:5-7New American Standard Bible 1995
5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
In order for us to realize our full potential, we must stay connected to our Source – God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit – otherwise yes, we will all fall short.
But if we stay connected, we can indeed accomplish much.
That’s who we are.
As odd as it may seem to the natural mind, the fact is we are a child of Almighty God, and we have each been created with the potential to do powerful things.
When we are connected to the Source, we have our Heavenly Father’s ability on the inside of us to do every good work He has destined for each one of us to do.
4. Understand What God Sees Is Completely True
God doesn’t see like man sees.
God sees the diamond in the rough, the potential amidst the problem, the prize at the bottom of the cracker jack box.
It is not what you or anyone else sees that actually matters, but what God sees.
He sees the end from the beginning of our lives, knows our potential even when we’re not acting like it, are faithless, are off track, or have no track record at all!
When we focus on these temporary things, we have a hard time believing in ourselves and in also accepting that we are what God sees and says we are.
But the fact is – God knows better! He knows exactly who He created us to be.
And that’s the message we will get when we look into the mirror of God’s Word.
God always believes in us, and therefore, we must also believe in ourselves.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3 As for the [d]saints who are in the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The [f]sorrows of those who have [g]bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my [h]mind instructs me in the night.
8 I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to [i]Sheol;
Nor will You [j]allow Your [k]Holy One to [l]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 