What Stops Us From Serving God? - Exodus 1-4

 Exodus 4:1 (ESV)

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.’”

There are often two things that prevent us from obeying God and growing in His grace.  One is a “cognitive anchor” and one is an “assumed constraint.”   We read of both in this story of God calling Moses to go to the people of Israel to deliver them from Egyptian tyranny.   In the last chapter and the above passage Moses stated that the people of Israel will not believe he has a message from God and that he, indeed, did talk to God.   Moses’ cognitive anchor was that these people, who do not now believe God will deliver them, will not believe if he comes to them.   God, in turn, tells Moses of His greatness.   He tells Moses how powerful He is.  He tells Moses how His mighty hand will bring them out of the captivity.   God had to replace Moses’ cognitive anchor with a new on.  No long should Moses fear the anchor in the hearts of the people of fear, but to believe in the new anchor that God stated about Himself.     

However, Moses still has an issue.  Having replaced the false anchor of his mind, God will soon be presented with Moses’ assumed constraint.  Moses begins to use two “assumed constraints” to prevent him from doing what God said ... utilizing a positive cognitive anchor from the last chapter. 

The first one is stated above when Moses says that the people will not believe him.  The second one is below:

Exodus 4:10 (ESV)

But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.

Not only will they not believe Moses actually saw and talked to God, but Moses was not eloquent of speech.  Both are a constraint that Moses believes can’t allow him to speak the truth God wants him to speak.   At first he didn’t believe God was powerful enough (a cognitive anchor).  Now he thinks he is not not good enough and these people are too dull to hear God’s message of deliverance. This is his assumed constraint.   This is what God must overcome to get Moses into the position to obey Him.  He often, if not always, has to do the same thing for us.  We have false anchors in our logic and weak constraints in our hearts that prevent us from serving God and being impactful for the mission He sends us to do.  

God’s solution to his cognitive anchor was to show Moses how powerful He was.   God’s solution to Moses’ assumed constraints was to provide Aaron, his brother, to speak for him.   God can overcome both our anchors and our constraints to equip us to serve Him.  Our anchors are replaced by the anchor of how powerful He is.  Our constraints are replace by how resourceful He is.   God supplies what we lack and overcomes what we believe. This allows us to do great things for Him.