Nougat 25

Have you ever been given an assignment and found that no one else believes in your capacity, except perhaps the one who sent you? How would you advise someone in this situation? Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.” ‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭7‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Confidence from …

To fully appreciate and understand the Nougat, we must return to Exodus chapters 1-2. The Israelites had grown in number, becoming a threat to the Egyptian ruler, who responded with enslavement and infanticide. Some 400 years passed by, and it would seem God had forgotten the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Then, one daring couple recognized God’s special touch on their son, who was born during the infanticide era. Several protective measures later, Moses not only lives in the palace, but he’s also treated like Egyptian royalty. Some assume he was a potential heir (maybe not), or would stand to gain much as an Egyptian prince.

But no one factored in Moses’ awareness of his natural identity. No one realized that the bonds forged with his birth mother as she fostered him for pharaoh’s daughter were extremely strong. No one expected a compassionate Moses.

What we read and hear of Moses’ story in Exodus 2 only shows the moment he became a murderer. Our Nougat however, indicates that Moses *Knew* that he had a divine assignment. His confidence came from knowing what he had to do. It is possible that he would have done other little things to aid the Children of Israel, as he tried to figure out what and how he would rescue his people.

Without the trust and support of the Children of Israel, however, it was going to be a hard and lonely journey. And, having been raised in pharaoh’s household for his older years, it may be that Moses derived confidence in his chosenness, rather than from YHWH. For Moses’ real relationship with God began after his self-imposed life imprisonment in the wilderness.

In counseling Moses or any other person grappling with coping with new-found, newly assumed authority, it becomes very important to define the Source of the authority. Is it God-derived or human-imposed? If God-derived, then our course of counseling might be different from when it’s human-imposed.

For newly assumed authority, we know that teamwork makes the dream work. So in both cases, we encourage the new leader to explore leadership training, identify key people with influence to effect the tasks assigned. We navigate the ‘Sanballats’ (see Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s stories) and ensure that we are wholly accountable to management.

If our leadership is human-imposed, it is possible that we gain confidence from our human leaders to effectively manage our tasks. On the other hand, when we are anointed and appointed by God for a task, we begin with the knowledge that 1) God will equip us spiritually and in the natural (see 1 Corinthians 1:27-29; and Hebrews 13:20-21); and 2) the opposition *Shall come*, but we must remain on task.

Once we know that we know that we’re walking in God’s anointing, our confidence is in God, and we look to YHWH for guidance alongside the training we have garnered for our task ahead.

May this be part of the counsel offered. Feel welcome to share additional thoughts.

—

May all we seek be found in Christ