What Kind of Résumé Are You Building?

As far as resumes go, Moses’s life experiences‘ remain unmatched compared to those of most leaders. He freed an entire nation from slavery in Egypt and parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape. Moses also received the Ten Commandments directly from God, establishing the laws by which the Israelites lived. When Moses died, God buried him. (Deut. 34:6)

Before Moses encountered God, his life was rather ordinary. The first time he heard God speak was through a burning bush. (Ex. 3:4) Until this time, his résumé included roles as a husband, father, shepherd (Ex. 3:1), and, unfortunately, a murderer (Ex. 2:14).

God called Moses out of the far side of the wilderness, as it says in Exodus 3, to take a courageous step of obedience. God knew the whole story ahead of time, and he knew Moses would eventually grow into the leadership role he was called to embrace when he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. But that first encounter revealed that Moses was uncertain he was the man for the job.

Exodus 3:10-12 says:

So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (NIV)

I love that God’s first encounter with Moses was in a place that had so much significance for their relationship. I also find it interesting that Moses was comfortable questioning God so quickly after observing what I consider an impressive miracle. I don’t know how often angels appear next to burning bushes in your neighborhood, but I’d like to think that if such a thing happened to me, I would trust God’s plan. Announcing himself in such a way should have indicated that God was all-powerful.

God told Moses that he heard the Israelites’ cries in captivity, and that Moses must free them and bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” (Ex. 4:1-5 NIV)

Did you catch the fact that Moses ran away from the miracle God empowered him to create? He threw his staff down, it turned into a snake, and Moses ran. It’s easy to read this story and picture God second-guessing Moses as his choice to lead the Israelites. Do you imagine God shaking his head or rolling his eyes as Moses runs from the snake? It’s understandable without a complete picture of God’s character.

God’s glory is so overwhelming that Moses could hardly tolerate seeing it. Exodus 33:17-23 says,

And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Viewing God’s glory had a lasting impact. When he descended the mountain, Moses’s face reflected God’s glory. Exodus 34:29-35 says,

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Moses grew from a young man who ran from God’s miracle to a leader whose face glowed so boldly with the reflection of God’s glory that the leaders in the community of Israel feared his appearance. That’s what I call building a résumé with the right type of leadership experience!

Moses wasn’t a perfect leader, but he was humble and teachable, and he kept his eyes, ears, and face focused on God. Moses built a résumé of faith by choosing to follow God even when he was scared. “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” (Heb. 11:26 NIV).

Moses’s résumé of faith was steadily built as he spent time in the presence of God. He learned to trust that moving forward with God was the best way to accomplish his calling and that when God said something would happen, it was always possible. Moses may have run away from that first miracle God, but over time, he built a résumé, of faith we can all learn from.

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.