Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" (Exodus 3:13 TNIV)

Has anyone ever questioned your authority? How did you respond?

In Exodus 3:13, Moses addresses his fear of his identity and authority being questioned and judged as he dealt with God's call on his life to lead the people of Israel out of the bondage of slavery. He asked God what to do and say if someone questioned his authority.

Excuse. Have your fears ever tempted you to run from a challenging opportunity? As I prepared to walk into my first teaching experience in a college classroom, I felt the weight of this fear. What if someone questions my authority? Who am I to be teaching college freshmen to write? I'm still a student myself!

When I finally had the nerve to express my doubts and fears to my husband Dan about teaching, he responded, "Why are your doubting yourself, Karen? You’ve got the credentials to teach these classes."

After Dan's encouragement, I decided to face my fears. I walked into the classroom prepared and confident that I had the ability and authority to do the job I was hired to do.

Promise. God responded to Moses' question about His identity, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you'" (14 MSG).

"(I AM) is the essence of the name Jehovah … the ever-living one, the only-living one, the self-existent one … dependent on no one or nothing outside of himself ... self-existent and self-sufficient" (Jack Taylor, Hallelujah Factor, 50).

Moses had the assurance that God was on His side, and that He would support him every step of the way.

Reflection. A few years ago, I shared a "God moment" with an intimate group of church friends. In the middle of my story, one of my "friends" rolled her eyes and started humming the theme to the Twilight Zone.

I'm pretty sure my initial response to my "friend" was not evidence of the "Holy Spirit" in me. But thankfully, Dan come to my rescue again by confirming my faith story, supporting my weakened backbone, and cooling my fleshly reaction to my "friend."

So, even though I've experienced the questioning of my "spiritual authority" quite a few times now, my confidence grows as I face my fears, step out in faith out of obedience, and tell my faith stories.

"When the religious leaders heard this story (by Jesus), they knew it was aimed at them. They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people held (Jesus) to be a prophet of God ... Jesus responded by telling still more stories" (Matthew 21:45-46; 22:1). 

Have you ever been intimidated by fear? Has anyone ever questioned your authority in public? How did you respond?

Photo/DanJordan