Available For Liberation Series

do believe that God has called the American people to be the

harbingers of freedom and the caretakers of liberty. I believe

that God wants all people to be free; Iraqis, Liberians, North

Koreans, Bosnians, and on and on. Does that mean I think

we should send troops to every corner of the earth? Does

that mean I believe we should foment rebellion around the

world? No, not at all. I am not for war-mongering. But I

know that there are going to be times when we as a nation

will have to step forward, when we will have to accept the

role which God has ordained for us; and when we will have

to understand that the Lord we serve is always working for

the freedom of His children. America, in order to fulfill her

destiny, must be available for liberation.

That means, among other things, that we had better not be

out there setting up dictators like we set up Saddam, that we

have to take down later. And it means, as we ought to have

learned during the Cold War, that we had better understand

that God wants to love His children with food and shelter and

jobs and not batter them with drugs and guns and

depression. Well might we, the American nation, ask Moses’

question, “Who are you, Lord?”, and then listen to His

answer, “I will be who I will be. I will be the Lord of human

history. I will be on the side of the poor and the oppressed.”

If you would be available for liberation, know who this God is.

III

But now, stay with me, for there is one more issue. There is

something else that Moses felt, and this is the most

threatening feeling of all. Moses wanted to volunteer and to

be available for the work of liberation, but he felt self-doubt –

and that was a good thing, for it taught him to depend on

God. Moses felt some uncertainty about God too. Yet even

doubting and questioning God was a positive thing, because

it made him understand more clearly what God was doing in

human history.

But now, when all is said and done, Moses also felt

unreadiness. He just felt as though he had nothing with

which to work. He was at the end of his rope, up a creek

without a paddle. Lord, how can I do this liberation thing? I

am not a good speaker, the people will not follow me, I have

no skills, I have no tools, I have nothing with which to work.

To his original questions, “Who am I?” and “Who are you?”,

Moses now adds another desperate query, “What if?” What

if they do not believe me? What if they do not hear me?

What if they say this is not right? What if they are scared

of the whole mess? What if, what if, what if? More things

have been destroyed by our “what if”’s than this world

dreams of. Who can blame Moses when he cries out,

“Please, Lord, send someone else!”? Anybody but me, Lord.

Send someone else!

But God says to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” What

is that you already have in your hand? How have I already

equipped you? Look at what is already in your hand, Moses.

The long shepherd’s staff became a snake in his hand, a

symbol of power. Moses’ own hand became diseased and

then healed, a sign of God’s willingness to use our