Embrace The Stutter

Devotional

Day 1: When Your Mouth Feels Like a Broken Instrument

Moses stood before God arguing about his stutter while holding a staff that turned into a snake. Our perceived flaws often shout louder than God’s clear calling. The same God who formed our mouths asks us to trust His ability over our inability. He doesn’t need polished speakers – He needs surrendered servants. Your weakness becomes His microphone when you let Him script the message. [54:44]

Then 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.” And the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
(Exodus 4:10-12, ESV)

Reflection: What specific insecurity about yourself do you need to hand God like Moses’ staff today? How might He transform it if you stopped arguing and started obeying?

Day 2: Contingency Plans for Late Bloomers

God showed Moses three miraculous signs before he’d even left the wilderness. Our delays don’t derail divine strategy – He built backup plans into eternity. That thing you think disqualifies you? God already factored it into the timeline. His promises aren’t fragile eggs needing perfect handling but resilient seeds that grow through cracks in our resolve. [01:03:43]

The Lord said, “If they will not believe you or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”
(Exodus 4:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you assumed your past mistakes limited God’s options? How might His contingency plans surprise you this week?

Day 3: The Bench Where God Adjusts Your Identity

Moses sat arguing about his resume while God kept saying “I AM.” Our self-perception often clashes with heaven’s perspective. God isn’t recruiting based on skill sets but shaping witnesses through surrendered stories. That bench where you feel unqualified becomes the altar where He says, “Watch what I do with willing.” [01:16:45]

God said to Moses, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
(Exodus 3:10-12, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your story feels like a liability that God might actually want to use as His signature?

Day 4: When Obedience Becomes Your Script

Moses’ stutter disappeared when repeating God’s exact words. Our calling isn’t to improvise but to echo. The pressure lifts when we realize we’re not authors but messengers delivering a sealed scroll. Your most fluent moments will come when you stop trying to edit heaven’s script. [01:24:41]

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
(Exodus 3:13-14, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you tempted to “ad lib” God’s instructions rather than deliver them verbatim? What happens when you trust His words over your eloquence?

Day 5: Driving Through Life’s Construction Zones

The preacher compared obedience to navigating roadwork – slow progress still counts. Moses took 40 years to embrace that his detour through Midian was part of the route. God isn’t frustrated by your pace if you’re moving toward the promise. Every orange cone ultimately widens the road for others. [01:10:07]

So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
(Exodus 4:20, ESV)

Reflection: What current “construction zone” in your life might actually be God’s way of expanding your capacity? How can you trust His timing today?

Sermon Summary

Exodus places Moses on that bench with God, and God calls a man who already knows too much about himself. God gives Moses signs that are not small signs. The staff hits the ground and turns into a snake. The hand goes inside the robe and comes out leprous, then goes back in and comes out whole. The water from the Nile can hit dry ground and turn into blood. God stacks miracle on top of miracle, and Moses still gets stuck on one thought: “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

The lingering thought says, “God, have you really looked at me?” The call is clear, but the memory is loud. Moses is not arguing because faith is absent. Moses is hesitating because memory is present. The stutter becomes the thing that slows him down, not because God did not speak, but because Moses keeps hearing what he knows about himself. Forgiveness does not always erase the memory of what happened, and the call to go can feel heavy when the called person remembers who he used to be.

God answers Moses with weight: “Who made your mouth?” God does not flatter Moses or pretend Moses is qualified by himself. God puts the focus back where it belongs. The issue is not who Moses is. The issue is who God is. God’s confidence becomes the weight that tips the scale when Moses is teetering between the call and the doubt.

Moses can say, “At least you’re confident.” God tells him, “Assuredly, I will be with you,” and that becomes the sign. The call does not ask Moses to carry the whole thing in his own strength. The call asks Moses to trust the One who already sees the mountain on the other side of Egypt. God is making plans down the road while Moses is still trying to survive the bench.

The stutter in the daughter’s speech gives the picture. Scripted words come easier than normal conversation. Moses does not have to make up his own Bible or invent his own authority. Moses only has to repeat after God: “I AM has sent me.” Obedience does not need to be eloquent. Obedience needs to be faithful. The stutter becomes fuel when the called person stops trying to speak in personal power and starts trusting the God who says, “Go, and I will be with your mouth.”

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Key Takeaways

1. Memory can slow obedience. The lingering thought is not always unbelief. Sometimes it is the old memory that keeps talking after God has already spoken. Moses shows that a person can hear God clearly and still hesitate because the wound, weakness, or history feels louder than the assignment. [58:29]
2. God plans beyond lost time. God does not run out of options because a person started late or stumbled along the way. The signs given to Moses show a God with contingencies, not a God who throws people away after the first delay. The call can still stand because God already counted the time and still knows the expected end. [64:09]
3. God’s confidence tips the scale. Moses asks, “Who am I?” and God answers with, “I will be with you.” That answer shifts the weight from human qualification to divine presence. When fear and calling sit on opposite sides, God’s confidence becomes the thing that makes obedience possible. [77:08]
4. Timing belongs to the Father. God can promise what He will do without handing over control of when He will do it. A hissy fit is not an invitation for God to move faster. Trust learns to seek His face, not just argue a preferred timeline. [79:44]
5. Obedience can simply repeat God. Moses does not have to sound impressive when God gives him the words. The stutter loses power when the assignment becomes, “Just repeat after me.” The called person does not need to be eloquent when the words belong to the Father.

## [84:41]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[52:41] - Strange Encounters Recap
[53:54] - Embrace the Stutter
[55:20] - Called While Battling Something
[57:46] - Point One: The Lingering Thought
[61:14] - Moses Questions the Call
[63:43] - God Has Contingency Plans
[64:52] - Moses Names His Stutter
[66:13] - Who Made Your Mouth?
[68:11] - Hearing God Over Doubts
[72:48] - Point Two: At Least God Is Confident
[82:36] - Point Three: Repeat After God
[84:41] - Scripted Words Silence the Stutter
[86:38] - Prayer and Response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Exodus 4:1-13 (ESV)
Exodus 3:10-15 (ESV)

Observation questions

In Exodus 4:10-12, what specific reason does Moses give for hesitating to obey God’s call, and how does God respond?
The sermon mentions that Moses’ stutter “loses power” when he focuses on repeating God’s words rather than his own. What example from the sermon illustrates this idea? [24:41]
According to Exodus 3:12, what does God say will be the “sign” confirming His call to Moses?
The sermon describes God’s response to Moses’ doubt as shifting focus from human weakness to divine presence. How does Exodus 4:11-12 reflect this shift?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think Moses fixated on his stutter even after witnessing miraculous signs like the staff turning into a snake? [05:18]
God tells Moses, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). How does this statement address both Moses’ fear and the broader challenge of leading Israel out of Egypt?
The sermon says, “Obedience does not need to be eloquent. Obedience needs to be faithful.” How does Moses’ interaction with God in Exodus 4:10-16 support this idea?
What does God’s use of “contingency plans” (like the leprous hand and water-to-blood) reveal about His patience with human hesitation? [03:43]

Application questions

What “stutter” (a past failure, insecurity, or lingering doubt) do you most often use to question your ability to follow God’s call? How might focusing on His presence change that? [58:29]
When has a memory of your past made you hesitate to step into a God-given opportunity? What practical step could help you trust His plans over your history?
The sermon says, “God’s confidence tips the scale” when fear and calling collide. Describe a situation where you need to rely on His confidence rather than your own qualifications. [17:08]
How can you practice “repeating after God” in conversations or responsibilities this week instead of relying on your own words or strength? [24:41]
The sermon compares trusting God’s timing to a child waiting for a parent’s plan. Where are you tempted to demand control over timing, and how can you shift to seeking His face instead? [19:44]
What “scripted words” (truths from Scripture, promises God has given you) could you lean on when your doubts or insecurities feel loud?

Sermon Clips

46s

“``I don't have to give my credentials. I'm I'm just reading. I'm just following. That's how we have to be in Christianity where I don't I didn't make this up. I'm just telling you what he said here. I don't If you're offended, I'm sorry. Read I'm just reading off what he told me to do. He called me. I I didn't make this up. That that's where we need to get to where if I'm speaking what God told me to speak, I'll need to be eloquent. I just need to be obedient. I don't need to be eloquent. I just need to be obedient. So in this season, don't shy away from what you believe disqualifies Embrace it and use it as fuel. When you feel like you're up against the wall, God says, just repeat after me.”

72s

“You see, one of the most interesting things that I learned in this true stuttering process of working with Mila, we went to one of the meeting things with the therapist, when she tested her, the therapist said, pastor, I don't we don't have a issue when it's scripted. We only have the issue in normal conversation. Here's my point. If I just follow what I've been given, the stutter is not an issue. If I gotta go out there and make up my own bible, I'm a struggle. But if I just say, this is what God told me. This is what he has for you. You'll learn that the words come easy because I'm not sharing the words that I have for myself. I'm not sharing anything that I have to come up with. I'm only communicating on behalf of my father, telling you that you are to let my people go, telling me that we shall worship God on this mountain, telling me that there's no good thing that he's gonna withhold.”

47s

“This is when we tell whatever we're up against. I know that in my strength, I know that in what I've done, I'm not able. But if you only knew the God that I serve, this stutter is not an issue, this challenge is not an issue, who I used to be is not an issue, what I'm presently facing is not an issue, I just have to do whatever he says to do. And if I put my trust in him, I can fully embrace the study because it don't stop me no more because I'm not speaking my own words. I'm not doing it in my own power, and I'm trusting the God that I need to get me there.”

85s

“You have to move. Moses trusted God. However, there was that brief moment of God, who do you think that I am? You see, the version of you it's not on the notes. Listen to me. The version of you that God speaks to and the version we see of ourselves don't always align. The version of you that God speaks to and the version that you see for yourself do not always align. That's why sometimes we question of, I don't know, but he's speaking to eternity. You're thinking about earthly stuff. He says, you're still called, but when you're in that moment, look at this, god's confidence in you will need to be the weight that tips the scale. I'm right here, and I'm kinda teetering between the two, but you said that you'd be confident in me, so I'm just gonna trust you in the time where I I I'm thinking about the stutter. I'm thinking about the thing that would hold me back. I'm thinking about what should stop me, but you're confident, and I trust you, so I'm allowing that confidence in you to tip the scale. You see, Moses was unsure about the call. However, he was confident in the one who was calling him. I don't have to know how. I just know that you will.”

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Family Life Church - Casa Grande, AZ This sermon · AI assistant

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Embrace The Stutter

Devotional

Day 1: When Your Mouth Feels Like a Broken Instrument

Day 2: Contingency Plans for Late Bloomers

Day 3: The Bench Where God Adjusts Your Identity

Day 4: When Obedience Becomes Your Script

Day 5: Driving Through Life’s Construction Zones

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Embrace The Stutter

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