Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
The Lord laid a powerful call upon Moses, even a heavy burden, to deliver God’s people. Moses’ first response was to sense his own inadequacy, making the excuse that he could not speak well. Of course, he was incapable of doing the job, for it was a bigger task than any human could achieve on his own. Every Prophet, Apostle, or Man of God that was called by God to speak His Word or carry out His mission feels sinful, unworthy, and woefully inadequate before the Holy, Almighty God. And he is. Who can do what God demands? No one can even keep the Commandments. Witness the excuses of Jacob, Moses, Gideon, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Esther, Mary, Peter, and Paul. Then witness how God used these men and women.
Every one of us is flawed, failed, and weak; none is righteous; all fall short. The only thing a sinful human can do is make excuses, rationalize, and justify self. He cannot serve and obey, do God’s will, save even himself, do any genuine good works, much less do great exploits for God. God must do it all, 100%. God could not find a man, so the Son of God Himself had to come and do it all for us. And Jesus did.
The Lord still calls us to be holy, do good works, obey His Commands, and, like Moses, do the impossible. The saying is true: ”God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.” And God, on account of Jesus, through the Spirit, does the impossible for us, in us, and through us: make us holy and live a life of good works.
Admit you can’t do it, but believe He can. God responded to Moses’ excuse: ”Who made man’s mouth?…I will be with thy mouth [v. 11, 12].” Instead of excusing ourself, we repent and admit failure, believe the Gospel, and trust God to do what we can’t. He can. He did. He does.