Leave of Absence

Exodus 4:18

Verse 18 features a glimpse into Moses’ humanity and God’s patience. “Then Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, ‘Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.’ And Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.'”

Moses left just a few things out of that account, don’t you think? Moses says, “Dad, I want to go see if any of my buddies down in Egypt are still alive. I’ve been at this forty years now. Do you mind if I take a little time off? You know, check out the pyramids, take a ride on the Nile, that kind of stuff.”

And Jethro says, “Fine. Have a good time. Take off, son.”

Somehow, Moses couldn’t bring himself to say, “Uh, Jethro, there was this bush out in the desert, and there was this voice in the bush, and well, the upshot is I’m going to lead the whole nation of Israel in an Exodus out of slavery and deliver them to Canaan.” He just couldn’t say that. But God, in His grace, doesn’t slap Moses’ hand. He doesn’t say, “Knock it off, Moses! Tell him the whole story.” He lets Moses cover his departure with kind of a broad-brush, nebulous explanation.

Somehow, that touches my heart. God is full of grace. Moses was packing his bags for Egypt, and God let it go at that. All He asks of us is a willing heart. He doesn’t expect perfection. He doesn’t expect you to have all the answers, all the ability, or all the courage. He doesn’t even require you to spell out each detail of His call. He just asks you to be available and take that first step of faith in the direction He’s pointing.

Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Posted in Bible Characters and tagged .

Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.