Exodus 2:15-25 (KJV)
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
Moses, the Prince of Egypt, alias Prince Charming, watering animals? Why? Because Moses had just choked down the biggest wedge of humble pie you can imagine. By now, the man was ready to do anything. Isn’t it interesting, though, that in this incident Moses was allowed to be a deliverer on an immensely smaller scale? Earlier, he had thought he was going to deliver a nation. He had grand dreams and mighty schemes. But this time God said, “You want a job as deliverer? Then stand up and do it, son. Start here. There are seven women here in Midian who need a champion at this moment.”
Moses could have shrugged it off. He could have said, “Aw forget it. I’m out of the delivery business. Let someone else do the job.” But he didn’t. It was here Moses took his first steps in becoming a man of selfless dedication. The young women would later tell their father, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock” (v 19).
That thought moves me. If you can’t do the good you would, do the good you can. You may have had big-time plans in your life—major league dreams that haven’t panned out. You were going to write a best-selling book, but the opportunities just haven’t come along. Are you willing to write for your church newsletter?
Maybe you wanted to teach in seminary or Bible school, but the pressures of life forced you in a different direction. Are you willing to teach a fourth-grade Sunday school class? Are you up for leading a small group Bible study? Is it really the teaching that draws your heart, or is it the prestige that goes along with the position?
Failure, you see, teaches us a servant’s attitude. And what does a servant do? He does “the next task.” She does what is available and ready for her to do. Those without such an attitude resist getting their hands dirty. They never want to get involved in the messy part of working with people. They always want the polished part, the popular part. But the tough stuff behind the scenes? Well, give that to someone else.
God, however, will use our failures and setbacks to cultivate within us a servant’s heart. That’s step one. It’s all part of the process.
— Charles R. Swindoll
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