The Man Who Lost His Edge

Posted by Dion Todd September 4th, 2022 3,499 Views 0 Comments

The Man Who Lost His Edge from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

There is an interesting story in the book of Exodus where an eighty-year young shepherd named Moses converses with God through a burning bush. When he was a child, Moses was raised in Egypt by Pharaoh's daughter and was well educated.

(Acts 7:20–22 NKJV)  At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months. But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

Before Moses turned forty, he was mighty in words and deeds. But life can be full of surprises, and some years later, Moses found himself living in exile, hiding in the desert, hiding from people. For forty years, he had been looking after a flock of sheep for his father-in-law, Jethro. 

These days, Moses spoke to animals more than he did to people. He no longer felt strong, powerful, or smart. He didn't have all the answers anymore. Moses was a man who had lost his edge. Yet, that was when the Lord chose to speak to him through a burning bush. 

The Lord wanted Moses to return to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to set his people free from their slavery. Once, Moses would have jumped at the chance to do that, but he was older now. He no longer had the desire to go. So when the Lord told him to go, Moses began making excuses. 

Moses asked the Lord, "Who am I that I should go to Pharoah?" Then "suppose they will not believe me." So the Lord gave him a sign and turned the shepherd staff in his hand into a serpent and then back into a staff. He made Moses' hand turn white with leprosy, then healed it. He told Moses' that He would turn the water in the Nile river into blood for him. 

(Exodus 4:10 ESV)  But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue."

Moses said, "I am slow of speech," literally "heavy of mouth." For the last forty years, Moses spoke mostly to sheep in Hebrew. Quite possibly, his grasp of the Egyptian language had grown rusty. He may have also had a stutter, and talking to the Lord hadn't fixed it yet, which Moses pointed out with, "since you have spoken to your servant."  

It was as if to say, "Look, Lord, I've been standing here talking with you for fifteen whole minutes, and you still haven't done anything about my speech problem!" (R. Kent Hughes).

Moses no longer wanted to be in the spotlight or to have eyes on him. He was comfortable there in the wilderness. His self-confidence was gone. Then the Lord made an astonishing statement:

(Exodus 4:11–12 ESV)  Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."

The Lord had healed Moses' hand from leprosy, but He didn't heal his mouth. And though Moses felt he needed it, the Lord had no intention of doing so. That makes no sense to me, but the Lord basically said, the buck stops here. I gave you the mouth you have, now take your disabled mouth and go to Egypt, and I will go with you. 

There is so much we don't understand about God. The great Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh "given" to him, and he pleaded with the Lord to take it away, but he would not. 

(2 Corinthians 12:7–9 NASB)  Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Apparently, He does not need perfect people of power, super-stars, or super-models to do His work. He doesn't even require working arms, legs, eyes, ears, or mouth. The one thing He does require is obedience. He will equip the willing and obedient with whatever is necessary to accomplish the task as it becomes needed. As the Lord told Gideon:

(Judges 6:14 NIV)  The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

We are each to serve God as well as we can with the limited gifts He has given us. That is the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. A man gave one of his servants five talents, another one two talents, and a third one talent. He told them to do business with it until he returned and traveled to a faraway country. 

When the master returned, the servant he had given five talents had doubled it and had ten. The one with two talents had doubled it and had four. But the servant with one talent hadn't done anything with his at all. Instead of using it, he dug a hole and hid it in the ground. I am sure he had reasons. Perhaps he wasn't as gifted as the others, since he wasn't entrusted with as much as they were. But the master cut right through those excuses:

(Matthew 25:26 NKJV)  "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant..."

That is one thing that tends to anger the Lord. I know today we like to think, "Oh, but the Lord doesn't get angry." Hogwash. The Word tells us, "He is slow to anger" (Psalm 103:8), which means you keep heating that pot and it's gonna boil. It doesn't mean that He will lose His temper, get out of control, and destroy the Earth. But oh yes, He can become angry at human behavior. Let's go back to Moses in the wilderness:

(Exodus 4:12–14 ESV)  "Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else." Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses...

The Lord didn't get angry when Moses asked, "Who am I that I should go?" Nor when Moses asked who was sending him, or what if they don't believe me? He wasn't upset over Moses bringing up his speech problem. But when Moses just didn't want to go and told Him, "Please send someone else," it stoked that fire in the burning bush a little more. "You wicked and lazy servant...let me see that staff again." As far as I know, Moses died with his speech impediment. But along the way, he became the most powerful person on Earth. 

You may feel like you have lost your edge, but the Lord made you as you are with the gifts you have. You have exactly what you need to accomplish what He is giving you to do. And if more is required, then more will be added. If it is truly His task, then go in the strength you have, and you will be successful. You don't need better health or wealth to be obedient, or He would already have given it to you. 

I am not talking about your happiness. Don't confuse working with the Lord with happiness, for sometimes they conflict. You might prefer to stay on the backside of the wilderness with a small flock of sheep, but He won't stop saying go...  

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me find my edge again. Stir up the gifts in my life and teach me to use the talents You have given me. I want to be a part of what You are doing today. Speak to me in a way I understand, and fulfill Your perfect will in my life. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!