“And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” (Exodus 33:14)
Where does the courage of the faithful come from? It always comes from the confidence that a faithful God goes before us and with us. Moses didn’t want to take one step forward unless he knew the Lord would be with him in the venture ahead. “And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” (Ex. 33:15)
Abraham, the father of the faithful, didn’t know where he was going; but he counted God faithful to show him the land of promise. When God calls us to do something, He doesn’t give us all the particulars. He tells us to step out of the boat, looking to Him the whole time. He says, “Go …” because, “Lo, I will be with you.” We are not to fear, even if we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death because He is with us. We are not to look to ourselves and what we can do because the “excellency of the power” is of Him and not of us. (2 Cor. 4:7)
God has never been interested in anyone’s excuses for why they couldn’t do something. “I can’t speak,” “I’m but a child,” “I’m the least in my father’s house.” So what? God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. He chooses the least, the last, and the most unlikely to succeed. He doesn’t need our strength or smarts; He needs us to believe that He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20) And when we move in faith we prove that our God is faithful, and what we accomplish we know is His doing and marvelous in our eyes.