The Art of Becoming
The Art of Becoming
Exodus 3:6
And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
During my college years, I remember sitting with my dad in his truck outside Wisdom’s office, expressing some of my frustrations with the writing and editing process (I was working on a fantasy novel at the time), and I still remember him saying to me, “Son, you have latent potential,” which, translated, means, “You could be a good writer, but you’re not there yet.” And even though I hated that thought at the time, I’ve learned better over the last fifteen years to accept it. There’s always more to cut away, always more to sanctify, and that’s a lifelong pursuit that doesn’t come easy. Hasn’t that been the case for all the saints we’ve encountered so far, friend? Jacob showed great cleverness in his early years, and he even suffered injustice with patience, but he needed to learn to wrestle with God and men rather than living life on the run. Joseph started life brimming with confidence, strutting around without any fear of men, confident in the dreams God had placed in his heart, but he needed to learn humility through suffering. Judah was always a leader among his brothers, always the coolest kid on the block, always the most likely to succeed, but he needed to learn to be a lamb before he could become a lion. And that’s where Moses is right now, friend. He’s got incredible potential. He’s strong as an ox; he’s a fearless defender of the weak (he would’ve fought Goliath too, I’m sure of it); but he’ll have to learn to love the face of God, not fear it: to talk with the Father as a friend talks with a friend: to climb through the eye of a storm to catch a glimpse of God’s glory while the rest of the world cowers below.
And, friend, you haven’t yet seen the full measure of all God created you for either. So today, let go of the fear and pride and deception and bitterness and lust that impeded your progress yesterday, and let God make actual what has so far been potential.