By Bob Bunn
In my first real job out of college, I worked as a sports editor at a small newspaper in northern Kentucky. Now, if you know anything about sports in Kentucky, you know that the residents of the Bluegrass State have a particular fascination with basketball. As a native of the state, that was fine with me. What’s more, the local high school team was pretty good. Actually, it was one of the best in the state—all three years I worked at the paper, they went to the state basketball tournament.
But the local team wasn’t the only consistent part of my tournament experience those years. For some reason, every time I tried to check in at the tournament game, my press credentials didn’t work. The first year, I chalked it up to my own inexperience, so I made sure I followed procedures to the letter in year two. I still had trouble getting in. Year three was a rinse and repeat. Apparently, I didn’t have the personal charisma or air of authority to convince tournament workers that I wasn’t just some guy trying to weasel my way onto press row. Thankfully, I had a good relationship with the head of the tournament, and he would vouch for me when my credentials inevitably went awry.
I wonder if that’s how Moses felt when he stood before God at the burning bush. While Moses felt like something was missing, God knew that Moses didn’t have to be qualified for the job. He didn’t have to be all that brave. He didn’t have to be all that articulate. He didn’t have to create great strategies. He didn’t have to have the right credentials.
Moses needed to trust God because God was the One at work. Moses may have felt like he didn’t have a lot going for him, but he had the greatest asset imaginable: God’s presence. Whether it was the Israelites or Pharaoh questioning his credentials, Moses could lean into five simple words: I AM has sent me. While the Lord used Moses as His messenger, God’s presence is what ultimately led His people out of Egypt.
We all face our own unique set of challenges. We struggle, and we fall. We often feel unqualified for whatever God might be planning for us. We might call it “imposter syndrome” or some other fancy psychological name, but it’s really just the same case of the yips that Moses felt at the burning bush.
And the solution is the same as well: leaning into the presence of God. If He calls you, He will be with you every step of the way. His presence is at work, and His presence is all we need.
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