Who is the real you?

"Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ' The Lord has not appeared to you'."    Exodus 4:1    NKJV

James Thurber created a fictional character called Walter Mitty and wrote a small book entitled THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY. It was so popular it became a film. Mitty is a meek, mild man with a vivid fantasy life. In a few dozen paragraphs, he imagines himself a wartime pilot, an emergency-room surgeon, and a devil-may-care killer. Although the story has humorous elements, there is a darker and more significant message underlying the text, leading to a more tragic interpretation of the Mitty character. Even in his heroic daydreams, Mitty does not triumph, several fantasies being interrupted before the final one sees Mitty dying bravely in front of a firing squad. In the brief snatches of reality that punctuate Mitty's fantasies, the reader meets well-meaning but insensitive strangers who inadvertently rob Mitty of some of his remaining dignity. Mitty had no trust or faith in his own ability, therefore he had to imagine that he was one of his heroic characters accomplishing great things. His whole life was built on make belief because he was so insecure.

Here we see something opposite with Moses. God, the creator of everything, chose Moses to go into Egypt and lead the Israelites from captivity into freedom in a new land. However, we witness Moses pleading with God telling Him that he was incapable of doing such a thing. He was basically saying to God, 'What can I do Lord; I'm a nobody, You need a somebody.' God didn't need a somebody at all, He needed Moses who may have classed himself as a nobody but, who God could turn into a somebody if he trusted Him.

Moses could have been thinking, 'I don't doubt You Lord, it's me I doubt. I doubt whether You can do it in me.' He was wriggling but God was having none of it. 'What is that in your hand?' He asked Moses. He told Moses to cast his rod on the ground and it became a snake. After various other examples of how God could bring this all about, Moses used the, 'I'm not eloquent Lord' card v10. He was saying that he wouldn't be able to negotiate with Pharaoh. Aaron, Moses brother, was finally chosen to accompany him. Moses was insecure, He would have sooner had someone else do the job than himself. 

At least he was honest with God, A Walter Mitty type would have imagined himself speaking great words with Pharaoh and leading the Israelites to freedom on the first visit. However, imagination, fantasy and daydreaming get a person nowhere. But they do cause a lot of problems for other people. Their imagination can run wild, where they see great conquests. However, in the end, nothing has been achieved and devastation can follow.

You may be insecure and if you are, then admit it and seek help from God. He is the one that builds a person up. Be yourself, not a copy of someone else or a copy of your imagination daydreaming of great exploits but not actually putting your feet down into the water. You are important to God, but not when you are full of fantasy and daydream. Meditate on God's Word and ask Him to give you a Spirit of power, love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Two things are evident here:

(1)  Are you insecure and tend to copy someone else rather than believe in yourself?

(2). Do you daydream and fantasise about great exploits but never really achieve them?

Talk to God abut these things.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2