NP+ 246 Moses: Learning to Wait on God

Devotional

Day 1: From Palace to Sheepfold: Humility in the Wilderness

Moses’ forty years tending sheep rewrote his story. Once a self-assured prince, he became a man stripped of ambition, wrestling with failure in the desert. Humbling seasons dismantle our illusions of control, revealing God’s power beyond our competence. Like Moses, we often mistake our plans for God’s purpose until life collapses, leaving us with empty hands and a heart ready to listen. True leadership begins not with confidence in ourselves, but surrender to the God who shapes us in obscurity. [07:50]

"But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?' He said, 'But I will be with you.'"
(Exodus 3:11–12a, ESV)

Reflection: Where has a season of waiting or failure reshaped your understanding of God’s calling? How might your current struggles be preparing you for a purpose you can’t yet see?

Day 2: Eighty Years of Why: Trusting God’s Delayed Timing

Moses asked “why now?” at eighty—too old, too weary, too aware of his limitations. God’s timing often conflicts with our urgency, using delays to deepen dependence. Forty years in Egypt taught Moses to act; forty years in Midian taught him to wait. Our frustration with divine delays often masks distrust in the One who works beyond our calendars. True readiness comes not when we feel capable, but when we stop arguing with the God who equips. [09:56]

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways."
(Isaiah 55:8–9, ESV)

Reflection: What unanswered prayer or delayed dream makes you question God’s timing? How might this wait be refining your trust in His wisdom over your urgency?

Day 3: Blood, Dust, and Holy Mystery: Holding Faith Amid Questions

The sermon wrestled with blood—both the biological miracle sustaining life and the spiritual truth of Christ’s sacrifice. Some truths, like blood’s sacred role, defy human explanation yet demand holy wonder. Faith doesn’t erase mystery but kneels before it, trusting the God who designed cells and salvation. When doubts arise, we don’t need air-tight answers—we need to trace the scarlet thread of redemption from Eden to Calvary. [22:27]

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."
(Ephesians 1:7, ESV)

Reflection: What scientific or biblical mystery keeps you up at night? How might embracing wonder rather than demanding answers deepen your worship?

Day 4: Sheep, Staff, and Surrender: Tools of an Unlikely Leader

Moses’ shepherd staff became a symbol of God’s power—not his own. The tool he used daily for mundane tasks became the instrument of miracles. God sanctifies ordinary people and their ordinary tools when surrendered to His purpose. Our greatest strengths often hide in what we dismiss as insignificant. True authority comes not from impressive resources, but from yielding what’s already in our hand. [05:42]

"And the Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A staff.'"
(Exodus 4:2, ESV)

Reflection: What ordinary skill, possession, or circumstance in your life feels too small for God’s use? How might He want to transform it for His glory?

Day 5: Planting Seeds in Doubt’s Soil: Faith Beyond Final Answers

The sermon urged seeking without demanding full resolution—planting seeds of trust even when questions remain. Like Moses’ stuttering excuses, our doubts often mask fear of inadequacy rather than intellectual struggle. Faith grows when we obey despite uncertainty, watering seeds of truth in ourselves and others. God builds His kingdom through persistent whispers of “I believe,” not grand pronouncements of certainty. [23:44]

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."
(2 Corinthians 5:7, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you tempted to withhold obedience until all doubts vanish? What small step of trust can you take today, even with unanswered questions?

Sermon Summary

Moses stands as a familiar story that still gives fresh angles when looked at up close. Moses grows from a self-assured prince into a shepherd who has talked to sheep for forty years, a man who says he is slow of speech and wonders, why now. God waits until he is eighty to send him, so the call lands on someone stripped of swagger and ready to serve in God’s power, not his own. Moses even offers, kill me instead, a costly intercession that reads like a shadow of Christ’s own self-giving. The pattern is clear. God humbles a leader, then trusts him with a burden bigger than himself.

The contrast between human timing and God’s timing does the heavy lifting here. Moses had the fire at forty and thought he was ready to lead a rebellion. He later looks back and all but says to God, you left me hanging. But the delay is mercy. The forty quiet years in Midian, under a priestly father-in-law descended from Abraham, re-teach him who God is and who he is not. By the time the bush burns, the man has learned to stop counting on his prime and to start trusting God’s presence.

The authority of Scripture stands alongside that story. All Scripture is God breathed is not a late church invention but a recognition of words already received and shared. Early churches knew the voices, and when heresies tried to bend Jesus into something smaller, the church had to codify what was already trusted. Styles differ, personalities come through, but the breath is God’s. The Bible is not a prop for politics or trends. If the authority of God’s word is off the table, then common ground is gone.

Faith then draws a line in the sand. Evidence matters. Resurrection testimony, creation’s witness, archaeology correcting critics, all of that helps. But answers never end, and questions will always produce more questions. At some point a disciple says, this I believe, not because the mind shuts off, but because trust finally stops outsourcing courage to certainty. Jesus says, seek and you shall find. The Spirit meets honest pursuit with peace. Smartness is not the gate into the kingdom. Humility is. And when it comes to origins talk, evolution only “makes the most sense” if God is removed from the picture. Common sense can look at blood itself and hear a louder word, both in creation and at the cross. In the end, the call is simple and steady. Keep seeking. Plant the seed. God will handle the growth.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s timing remakes the leader Moses wanted to lead at forty and learned to be sent at eighty. The desert did not waste him, it remade him, trading self-importance for dependence. The call arrived when humility could carry holiness without cracking. [07:50]
2. Scripture breathes with God’s own life The canon was recognized, not invented, and the church resisted fables by returning to received voices. Different styles do not dilute a single breath. If God’s word loses authority, the church loses its center. [18:46]
3. Faith draws a line in sand Evidence helps but cannot finish what trust must decide. Chasing endless answers only moves the goalposts of certainty. Faith names its convictions and stands there with open eyes and a steady heart. [16:30]
4. Seekers find peace as they keep seeking Jesus ties finding to seeking, not to arrogance. The Spirit does not reward quitters but consoles the humble who keep knocking. Peace grows as questions are carried to God, not weaponized against Him. [20:46]
5. Plant seeds, let God give growth A witness may only sow while another waters and a third harvests. Faithfulness is measured in obedience, not outcomes. Relief comes when the results are handed back to God’s timing and care. [23:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[04:10] - Familiar Moses, fresh insights
[05:42] - Self sacrifice foreshadows Christ
[07:50] - Forty years that humbled Moses
[08:51] - Why now, not then
[09:56] - God’s timing and calling
[13:14] - Authentic letters and early consensus
[14:11] - How the canon was recognized
[15:13] - Faith with evidence, not certainty
[16:30] - This I believe, line drawn
[17:39] - When authority of Scripture is denied
[18:46] - God breathed truth through human voices
[20:46] - Seek and find, Spirit gives peace
[23:44] - Plant the seed, God brings growth

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV): All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
- Exodus 3:1-10 (ESV): The call of Moses at the burning bush, where God commissions him to lead Israel out of Egypt.
- Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV): Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Observation questions

In Exodus 3:11, Moses responds to God’s call by asking, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” What does this reveal about his self-perception after 40 years in Midian?
According to 2 Timothy 3:16, what four purposes does Scripture serve? How might these purposes counter modern skepticism about the Bible’s authority?
The sermon highlights that Moses’ 40 years in Midian “re-taught him who God is and who he is not” [07:50]. What specific experiences or relationships during that time might have shaped his humility?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think God waited until Moses was 80 years old to call him, rather than when he was 40 and eager to lead? How does this contrast human ideas of “prime” readiness with God’s timing?
The sermon states, “If the authority of God’s word is off the table, then common ground is gone” [18:10]. How does rejecting Scripture’s divine origin impact a church’s unity and mission?
Jesus says, “Seek and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). How does this promise address the tension between having unanswered questions and choosing to trust God?

Application questions

Moses’ 40 years in Midian stripped him of self-reliance. What current season of waiting or humility might God be using to prepare you for a task bigger than your own strength?
The sermon warns against “outsourcing courage to certainty” [16:30]. Where are you tempted to demand absolute answers before acting in faith? How could you step forward while still holding questions?
Reflect on a time when you tried to “plant a seed” in someone’s spiritual journey. How can you release the pressure to control outcomes and trust God’s timing for growth?
The Bible’s authority is described as the church’s “center” [18:46]. In what areas of your life (e.g., decisions, relationships, doubts) do you need to prioritize Scripture’s guidance over cultural opinions?
Moses’ costly intercession (“kill me instead”) foreshadowed Christ’s sacrifice. What costly act of love or forgiveness is God calling you to offer this week, even if it feels uncomfortable?

Sermon Clips

38s

“that would be my encouragement to a lot of people and to remember because I think some people get wrapped up in, well, like, oh, my friend is so, like, wants to tie in that. Like, yes, you can talk to them. You're planting seeds. That's great. You don't know what God's gonna do yet, but you you're not the one that's gonna save them. Like, you are not saving them. You maybe you're helping them, talk them along, but, it's not up to us. So so In fact, maybe, for that person's life, god is only gonna have you plant a seed, and but somebody else is gonna come in the water. Somebody else is gonna do the harvest. Right. But you just be faithful in planting that seed Yeah. And let god take care of the rest. Yeah. Pressure's off of you. Mhmm.”

52s

“Now there's evidence for it, evidence of the resurrection, evidence of God. I mean, Romans one says, look at creation. There's enough evidence to believe in God. Mhmm. But it there's a faith involved. That's why it's called the faith. It's not scientific knowledge. There's faith. And I think we'll always have questions. Years ago, I have a cousin who's a doctor now, but he went to University of Illinois in med school, and he he called my dad and said, uncle John, man, my professors are really, really evolutionist, and they're really attacking my faith. And I have a whole series of questions I wanna ask you about this. And dad said, Steve, don't go down that road. And he goes, what? He goes, you will always have questions.”

55s

“you will always have questions. I can answer this list of questions or a 100 questions, but you'll always have questions. What you have to do is you draw the line in the sand and say, this is what I believe. This is what I believe and that's faith. You have enough evidence to believe. I'm not saying just blind faith. Right. There's evidence to believe, but you have to draw a line in the sand and say, this I believe. And Steve told me he was so mad at my dad because he didn't he wanted to have the answers so he could refute his professors. My dad, very smart dude, and he's editor of a editor in chief of a publishing Christian publishing house. So, anyway, he thought he could get the answers. And and dad, don't go down that road Mhmm. Because there's no end to it. And and if you're gonna base your faith on the answers you think you're gonna get, you're gonna always have questions.”

52s

“And then he finally realizes through forty years of just thinking, you know, and he's 80 years old now. That's another thing. So listen. I've talked to Rell and these sheep for forty years. You know? So I think that was his opinion of himself Yeah. That I'm slow to speak or or not slow to speak, but I'm I'm slow of speech Yep. And and and action. Why me? I think what he was really saying to God is, why now? Mhmm. I was ready. Yeah. Yeah. In the prime of my life, 40 years old. I was ready. You knew my heart. I wanted to do this for your people, and you left me hanging, God. Mhmm. I think that's really what the message is. You left me hanging. Yeah. I stuck my neck out. And what did you do? Nothing. I had to run away to Midian,”

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