Who Am I?

Thanks for joining us for this daily encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled Who Am I?, was written by Tim Gustafson. Kizombo sat watching the campfire, pondering the great questions of his life. What have I accomplished, he thought. Too quickly the answer came back.

Not much, really. He was back in the land of his birth, serving at the school his father had started deep in the rainforest. He was also trying to write his father's powerful story of surviving two civil wars. Who am I to try to do all this? Kizombo's misgivings sound like those of Moses. In Exodus chapter 3, God had just given Moses a mission. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. Moses replied, Who am I? After some weak excuses from Moses, God asked him, What is that in your hand? It was a staff. At God's direction, Moses threw it on the ground. The staff turned into a snake. Against his instincts, Moses picked it up.

Again, it became a staff. In God's power, Moses could face Pharaoh. He literally had one of the gods of Egypt, a snake, in his hand. Egypt's gods were no threat to the one true God. Kizombo thought of Moses, and he sensed God's answer.

You have me, end my word. He thought too of friends who encouraged him to write his father's story, so others would learn of God's power in his life. He wasn't alone. On our own, our best efforts are inadequate, but we serve the God who says, I will be with you. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Exodus chapter 4, verses 1 through 5. Moses answered, What if they do not believe me, or listen to me, and say, The Lord did not appear to you? Then the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand?

A staff, he replied. The Lord said, Throw it on the ground. Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, Reach out your hand, and take it by the tail.

So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. This, said the Lord, is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for who you are and for loving us and encouraging us. When we feel inadequate to accomplish something that you've laid on our hearts, remind us of Moses and the countless other times you've empowered people to do great things in your strength. May we trust you and move forward in boldness. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen Taber, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.