“He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” — Exodus 2:12
SOUNDING
Moses grows up between two worlds. Born a Hebrew under a death decree, raised in Pharaoh’s palace under privilege and power. He has access to influence, education, and authority, yet he knows he does not fully belong there. As he matures, he becomes aware of the suffering of his own people. One day, he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. Something rises in him. Anger…Justice… Identification. He looks around, sees no one watching, and kills the Egyptian. Then he hides the body in the sand.
This moment exposes the tension inside Moses. He senses a calling before he understands how God wants to use him. He wants to deliver before he has been shaped to lead. The instinct toward justice is not wrong, but the method reveals impatience and self-reliance. Moses attempts to accomplish in one impulsive act what God intends to accomplish through a long process. The result is exile. He flees into the wilderness, not yet ready for the role his heart already longs to step into.
There are seasons when you feel stirred toward something larger than your current life, like a burden or a conviction, a desire to fix what is broken. But calling without God’s timing often leads to frustration or failure. Moses’ mistake does not cancel his future, but it does redirect him into years of hidden shaping. God does not discard him for acting too soon. He prepares him more deeply. What feels like a setback becomes preparation. The wilderness becomes the classroom for the leader he will eventually become.
BEARING
Sensing a calling is not the same as being ready to carry it. God often forms character in hidden seasons before entrusting visible responsibility.
PRAYER
God, form in me the patience and depth needed for what You have placed on my heart. Keep me from running ahead of Your timing.
DROP IN
Where are you tempted to act out of urgency instead of waiting for God’s timing? Pause and ask what God may still be shaping in you first.
Ryan Daffron 
Leave a comment