My Goodness is Nothing Apart from You...

 10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

11 So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”—Exodus 3:10-12

Moses had it right here in that he knew he was not sufficient for the task that God had called him to do.  Beloved, truly none of us are!  As the psalmist prays in Psalm 16...

O my soul, you have said to the LORD,

“You are my Lord,

My goodness is nothing apart from You.”—Psalm 16:2

Apart from the Lord we can do nothing good.  In and of ourselves we are insufficient for this life.  I have learned to be grateful for that. It is a gift.  The secret is out.  I don’t have to pretend that I am capable and good enough.  I don’t have to pretend that “I got this” when I don’t.  What a relief to just rest in my God and allow Him to uphold me, to perform all things for and even make perfect that which concerns me.  I can trust Him to see me through this life and guide me to glory.  My burden is lightened and my eyes are on Him who does all things well.  

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:9-10

There is No God Like Jehovah!

 And the Lord said [to Moses]: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.’” ~ Exodus 3:7-8, NKJV

Long before Israel cried out to the Lord because of their bondage, the Lord had been preparing their deliverer. When they did cry out, however, He visited Moses in the wilderness as a fire burning in the midst of bush that was not consumed. Exodus 3:2 specifically states that it was “the Angel of the Lord,” who appeared and spoke. The Angel of the Lord is always Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity. He is clearly distinct from angels (lowercase L) as He receives worship and honor due only to God, and as Scripture continuously identifies His words as God's words (even calling Him God). So here we have Jesus Himself coming down from heaven to answer the cry of His people. Israel was so important to Him that when He heard their sorrows, He was unwilling to entrust their deliverance to anyone other than Himself. He came to deliver them. He sent Moses. He brought the plagues. He was the Angel of death. He was the cloud that guided and protected the Israelites after they fled Egypt. He was the pillar of fire that also guided them and warmed them. He was with His people throughout the exodus and through all the years in the wilderness, even when they rebelled against Him. The fact that God Himself came down speaks to at least two things. First, it demonstrates the power of prayer - Israel cried out, and the Maker and Sovereign of the universe acted in response. Secondly, it speaks to the extent of the love of God. As He would later do on the cross, Jesus humbled Himself and came down to meet His people. He is the Great I AM WHO I AM, the Becoming One, who becomes the answer to our every need. Paul writes, “But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ‘Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?"' (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, '"Who will descend into the abyss?"' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith which we preach)..." (Romans 10:6-8) We didn't have to go to great lengths or climb to great heights to meet our Savior. He came to meet us, where we were, in our hour of need, as He did for the Israelites in Egypt, and He continues this practice to this day. (Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, as it says in Hebrews 13:8.) He is near to all those who call upon Him! He is our I AM, the one who supplies all our needs, who sees our sorrows, who hears us when we call, and who always acts on our behalf. There is no God like Jehovah!

By Rebecca