The title for this next study is "Doubt and Grace." I love the passage I'm about to read, but I love it for something other than its drama. This is one of these mind-blowing, dramatic scenes that grips your imagination, your wonder, and leaves you in awe. But that's not the most important thing about this passage. Think about that as I read Exodus 4:1-9:
Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'" The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." And he said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, "Put out your hand and catch it by the tail"-so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand-"that they may believe the LORD, the God of the fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." Again, the LORD said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak." And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. Then God said, "Put your hand back inside your cloak." So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. "If they will not believe you," God said, "or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even those 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."
Now think about what is happening in these conversations; get beyond these amazing miracles. God has identified himself to Moses as the Great "I AM." He has assured him of his presence. He has told him that he remembers his promises. He has told him that he will unleash his power. He has told Moses that his hope is not in the power of his hands, but in God's outstretched hands. But Moses is still filled with doubt and fear. What's God's response: to mock his doubts, to turn away in disgust from Moses and choose someone else?
Here's what I love about this passage, that it confronts and comforts us with the tenderhearted patience of the LORD. In the face of the doubt of this man, who has already been reassured ten times, God responds to Moses with grace. God stoops to meet Moses' fear-ridden heart and demonstrates to Moses the power that will be available to him as he calls Pharaoh to release the Israelites. The staff becoming a snake, the hand becoming leprosy, the water turning to blood are all acts of grace to empower the faith and assurance of this deeply anxious man. Wow! Be humble here-if you were Moses, you'd be afraid too. If you were Moses, you'd want reassurance too.
This account of Moses, again, sends me to the New Testament. It reminds me of Thomas, the disciple who doubted the resurrection of Jesus, and in doubting the resurrection of Jesus, doubted the power and promises of God. John 20:24-29 says:
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails...and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."
Eight days later... Jesus (showed up and)... he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
You see, as God met Moses, Jesus met Thomas. As God met Moses, our Savior meets us day after day after day. Don't let your doubt keep you from coming to him. Bring your doubts to him and experience his tender, reassuring grace!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. In the past, how have the doubts your heart has wrestled with been tenderly and graciously met by God? What were some of those specific doubts? What thoughts and/or emotions do you experience when you still struggle with those doubts in the present?
2. In what ways have you seen new depths of God's grace that you wouldn't have seen if you didn't experience any battle with doubts? How have you seen God use your struggles with doubts to deepen and strengthen your faith?
3. How do the stories of both Moses and Thomas give you comfort as you read about both of them struggling with doubting God? How are you reassured, knowing that God met both Moses and Thomas in ways that highlight his grace?
4. By faith, in what ways do you need to cry out to God and say, My Lord and my God! even though you might be currently doubting?
For Younger Children:
1. When it comes to God, Jesus, or the Bible, would you say that you ever have doubts about him or what it means to be a Christian? Do you think it's wrong to doubt God? Why or why not?
2. Can you think of anyone from the Bible who doubted God? How do you think God responded to their doubts about him? What can we learn about God's response to doubters in the Bible when it comes to our doubts today?
For Older Children:
1. What are some of your specific doubts about God or the Bible? Can I share with you some of the doubts I've wrestled with in my relationship with God?
2. What do you think God thinks about us when we doubt him or his Word? Would you initially think that he wants to give us grace when we doubt him? Why or why not?
3. By faith, in what ways do you and I need to cry out to God and say, My Lord and my God! even though we might be currently struggling with doubting him?
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