When God Calls You to Speak Up
There have been situations where I knew exactly what needed to be said. And others where the anxiety of the situation gave me lockjaw. Maybe you know the feeling: that moment when you’re called to speak up. Every excuse in your head tells you to stay quiet instead.
To unpack this common problem, today, we’re going to take a look at the life of Moses.
Moses Never Felt Ready
Moses wasn’t a natural speaker. He’d fled Egypt and spent decades tending sheep in the wilderness. He’d built a quiet life far from the palace he grew up in. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, God showed up in a burning bush. He told him to go confront Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the ancient world. Moses was called to demand freedom for God’s people.
Moses argued. He listed reasons why he wasn’t the guy for the job. Reading through Exodus 3 and 4, you can feel him grasping for any excuse to hand this off to someone else. God didn’t take the excuses away. He just kept promising to go with him.
What God Gives You When You’re Called to Speak Up
When Moses hesitated, God told him, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12, ESV). It’s God’s answer to Moses’ fear, and often, to our fear. We don’t get called to speak up and then left to figure it out alone. God is with us!
God also told Moses His name, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14, ESV). This was a declaration of who holds the authority in this whole story. When Moses was still worried about his words, God reminded him that He’s the one who made mouths in the first place (Exodus 4:11, ESV).
Jesus said something similar centuries later. He told us not to worry about what to say. The Holy Spirit would give them the words when the moment came (Luke 12:11-12, ESV).
Living This Out When You’re Called to Speak Up Today
I think about this every time I sit across from someone who needs to hear something hard. I also think about it when I know a conversation with my own kids is going to be uncomfortable. And for the record, the fear doesn’t disappear just because you’ve done it before.
What changes is remembering you’re not carrying the conversation by yourself.
Granted, most of the time, being called to speak up doesn’t look like confronting a significant force like Moses with Pharaoh. It’s often telling a friend the truth in love or admitting where you were wrong. It can be simply saying the thing everyone else in the room is avoiding.
The Holy Spirit shows up in those ordinary moments the same way God showed up for Moses in the extraordinary one.
Join the Conversation, Share Your Thoughts
- When has God called you to speak up, and how did you respond?
- What fears hold you back from speaking the truth in love?
- How can you lean on the Holy Spirit to guide your words this week?
