By Matt Tullos
Special Assistant to the Exec. Dir., TBMB
We are all in transition, especially after this season of Covid-19. But the transitions that mark our destiny and create our story are the ones that are thrust upon us by the Creator of a greater narrative we call redemption. These transitions whisper to us when we feel the malaise of discontent and stagnation. They seek us out in the wilderness and transcend us into a different level of purpose. We see this early on in the story of Moses. Here are five traits we discover on the road to transformation and destiny.
Patience
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. -Exodus 3:1
Matt Tullos
Success doesn’t happen overnight. Most of the overnight successes include 10-year-long nights. Moses’ night lasted 40 years in the dumpy fixer-upper known as the backside of the desert. I’ve been in these well-worn dogleg paths of the human experience but never for forty years. Patience will ultimately sustain you during transitions. We see Moses and his subordinates (dust-beat, bleating monotones called sheep.) There’s nothing like working for your father in law to level out any narcism loitering in the corridors of your soul. Ask Moses when you see him. Patience will win out if you give it time., And patience always requires time.
Perception
2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” -Exodus 3:2
It’s interesting to note that Moses got a call from the Lord because he was curious enough to check out was going on around him. God looks for those who are curious. He wants investigators who are willing to forget their sheep and focus in on the anomalies they encounter.
Purpose
10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” -Exodus 3:10
Every leader has a Pharaoh in his or her future. We all have obstacles and ogres that God wants us to conquer. It’s your purpose and when you are called to fight, you’d better grab your moment, because it’s why you were created.
Promise
And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.” -Exodus 3:17
Every transition has a purpose and every purpose has a prize. Also note that the prize includes a handful of enemies to overcome. I don’t know. Your Hittites may be an emotional disorder. Your Perizzites may be your chronic illness. Your Amorites might be your addictions. You have been created to overcome those squatters living in the land of your future victories. Just trust that the Milk and Honey of the Kingdom will be worth the fight. Take the fight to the enemy. In the end, you are destined to overcome.
Power
Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” -Exodus 4:2
God takes the things you have and makes them holy and powerful. Trust whatever is in your hand. A pen, a hammer, a stethoscope, a paint brush… They are tools that can transcend into the implements of the Divine.
So now… It’s a long journey. Get some rest. Take your vitamins and when the sun rises, get after it. It’ll be well worth the trouble.
