Exodus 3:1-14; 4:1-13     How to Overcome an Inferiority Complex     Oct 2, 2005

     All of us can remember negative experiences that have marked us to this day.  Perhaps in childhood or even as an adult.  Something was said or done to us and we were shaken to our very core.  We can be left with feelings of doubt, uncertain, inferiority.  This morning, I want to talk about how we can over such an inferiority complex. The first step is to admit our weakness and have faith that God is with us.  The second step is put what you have to work.

      Moses had an intense emotional experience of rejection in his life.  We have seen that the young man Moses was strong and confident to a fault.  Yet, he was broadsided when he tried to help his people.  His own people, the Hebrews, rejected him as a leader.  Then, Moses was also rejected by the Egyptian people with whom he had grown up as an adopted member of the royal family.  What a fall from on high.  From being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter to being a man hunted by the law.  Rejected by his people.  So Moses gave up.  He ran away into depression and lived as a shepherd for forty years.

     How many of us have ever seen the old Jane Fonda movie—“They Shoot Horses Don’t They"?   Jane Fonda is a depressed actress who has a fallen career during the 20’s. She enters a dance marathon hoping to win the jackpot and use the money to launch a new movie career. As the marathon draws closer to the end, she realizes that she and her partner have a good chance of winning. During one of the rest breaks, the promoter calls them into the office, and explains to them that the winner has to pay for the expenses of the dance out of the $750.00 prize money.  At that point, she gives up. The final scene, she goes outside with her boy friend, hands him a gun, and asks him to shoot her. The police come and ask the boy friend why he shot her. He replies, “They shoot horses don’t they!!"...

     Do you feel like giving up on life?  Moses gave up for forty years.  That is a long time to be haunted by your failure.  A long time to spend alone with sheep all day.  A long time for the Hebrew people to continue on in slavery.  Where was God?  Often, when we are ready to give up on life, we may ask, “Where is God?  Why does God not answer?  Maybe God just does not care.”   But God hears our cries and God will answer.  If you look at Exodus 2:23-25, God had not forgotten His people.  He heard their cries.  And God did answer in the right time, when Moses was ready. 

      In reading some books for this sermon, several scholars wrote that this waiting was the plan of God until finally forty years later, God was ready.  This is, of course, a very predestined view of life.  God planned for Moses to fail, to run away, to wait forty years, and then finally to answer.  That is ridiculous.  Listen to me.  God would have saved His people from slavery earlier if, and let me be blunt here, Moses had not taken matters into his own hands, murdered that Egyptian, and then run away like a scared rabbit.  Then Moses had to sulk in self doubt and pity in the wilderness for forty years.  God was always ready to save his people.  Moses was not ready.  Listen to me.  God is ready to bring answers to your life.  Are you ready?

     How can we get ready?  How can we overcome the doubt, poor me, I cannot do it feelings?  Let’s look at what happened to Moses at that famous burning bush.

    God calls to Moses and tells him what He must have already told him forty years ago.  “You will set my people free?”  How does Moses respond?  He is no longer the self-confident young man of yesterday.  Moses gives three excuses which can tell us much about ourselves.  And God gives three responses that can empower us to overcome our doubts.

     Look at verse 3:11.  “Who am I?”  I am nobody.  How often do you feel like—who am I?  I am nobody.  Look at God’s answer in verse 12—I will be with you.  The problem with too many modern self-esteem teachers is that they try to convince us that we really are somebody.  Oh, Moses, you really are a special guy, a strong man, a good leader.  But deep inside, we know we are not.  So God never attempts to build up Moses by talking about how great Moses is.  Instead, God simply says, “I will be with you.”  Listen to me.  Overcoming self doubt is not about talking yourself into believing how great you are.  The power to overcome is in believing that God is with us.  I have no faith in me.  I have faith in God.  Despite our weaknesses, He is with us.  Paul writes in II Corinthians 12:10—When I am weak, then I am strong.  The first step in overcoming inferiority is to admit our weakness and have faith that God is with us.

      Look at verse 4:1.  Moses next excuse is—What if they will not listen to me?  You see, Moses still remembered those stinging words from forty years ago.  Who made you to lead us?   So many of us still remember our rejection.  We may feel empty and washed out.  Maybe I feel too old to do much.  I feel I have nothing left to give to life. But Moses still has something left.  God asks, “What do you have in your hand?”  “A shepherd’s staff.”  “Throw it on the ground.”   In your time of feeling like I cannot do it, God will ask you—What do you have in your hand?   What skills do you have to solve this problem?  What abilities can you bring?  What can you do?  Now what you have may not be much.  Moses answered, “Oh yeah.  It’s a shepherd’s staff.  That’s about all I am good for—leading sheep.  But God says put it on the ground. The ground is where the rubber meets the road.  Step one is about faith.  Faith that God is with you.   Step two is look at what you have in your hand and put it on the ground.   Put what you have to work.   You must have faith.  Now you must do the work.  

     What do you have?  Look at yourself.  Look real hard at yourself.  Too many of us do not look hard enough at what we have in hand.  We tend to say, “Oh this old thing.  I cannot do anything with it.”  But look again.  We give up far too easily.  Look hard at your resources.  It’s just an old shepherd’s staff.  But when Moses looked a second time at his staff, it had become a powerfully deadly poison snake.  Now that was something he had not seen before.   You too have something.  You have skills, abilities, and talents that you can use.   How do I know that?   Because God made you that way.   Moses third excuse is to start whining that he is not a good public speaker, but God cuts him off and says, “I made your mouth and I will be with your mouth.”  God made each of you in this room and you do have something in your hand that God can use.  But you must look hard at what you have.  And then, whatever it is, even an old staff, put it to the ground, put it to work, and look at what will happen.  That old staff may be more than you think. 

     How about you?  What rejections have you had?  Have faith that God is with you to make you strong in your weakness.  What are the challenges in your life right now?  What is that in your hand?  God can take what you have and enable you to put it to work in meeting all challenges.  Have faith in God.  Put to work what you have.  God has an answer for your life when you are ready.  Amen.