The Gap: Inadequate Strength, Sufficient Presence

I. ENGAGE

On the afternoon of April 12, 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman was trying to catch his breath after a brutal session presiding over the United States Senate.

He had just walked into House Speaker Sam Rayburn's private office to unwind when a sudden, urgent phone call from the White House shattered the afternoon, ordering him to come immediately and without delay.

The atmosphere completely shattered when Eleanor Roosevelt walked into the room, gently put her hand on his shoulder, and delivered news that stopped his heart: “Harry, the President is dead.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s body had finally given out after 12 grueling years of carrying the catastrophic weight of the Great Depression and World War II on his shoulders, collapsing from a sudden, massive cerebral hemorrhage while sitting for a portrait in Georgia.

The sheer inadequacy Truman felt in that moment was staggering, considering he had only been Vice President for a mere 82 days, had barely even seen FDR, had absolutely no idea that the United States was secretly developing the atomic bomb, and was totally blind to the highest-level strategies of the war.

The very next day, Truman met with reporters and perfectly captured the sheer panic of facing a gap that big, famously telling them,

"Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now.

I don’t know if you fellows ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."

But history shows that Truman didn't just survive the weight of the cosmos;

he stepped right into the gap, finishing out Roosevelt's grueling fourth term, navigating the complex end of World War II, and leading the nation through massive global transitions so remarkably well that the American people actually elected him to his own full term in 1948.

BRIDGE TO TENSION:

Look, most of us will never find ourselves thrust into the Oval Office during a world war, but every single one of us knows exactly what it feels like to have a heavy "load of hay" drop on our shoulders.

We know that suffocating sensation when life hands us a reality that we feel completely unequipped to handle, and that everyday struggle is exactly where we find our central problem.

II. TENSION

Think about how we handle major life shifts, like starting a new job in an unfamiliar industry.

Nobody expects perfection on day one; you ask questions, make mistakes, and comfortably learn on the fly.

It’s the exact same dynamic when you bring home a newborn baby for the first time.

There is no manual, but when that baby starts crying at 3:00 AM, you don't wait until you're a certified expert—you just figure it out as you go.

Yet, we invent a weird double-standard the moment a major opportunity calls us outside our normal routine.

Whether it's leading a team, running for a local community seat, or managing a high-stakes transition, we suddenly decide we aren't allowed to learn as we go, demanding flawless expertise before we ever step forward.

That pressure instantly activates the inner imposter track in our minds: "I don't know enough.

My background doesn't fit this. Get someone else."

We mistake our completely normal, initial inadequacy for a total disqualification.

We let the fear of instability paralyze us, worrying that if we step up without a perfect roadmap, the situation will blow up in our faces and make our already brutal daily grind even heavier.

The core question is how do ordinary people break out of that paralysis?

How do we step into an assignment when we feel completely unqualified, and what happens when we finally trust a way forward that doesn't depend on our own preparation?

BRIDGE TO TRUTH:

To find the answer to that question, we will be continuing our series in the second book of the Bible, Exodus.

Let’s look at a historical moment where a man with a laundry list of excuses faced the ultimate top-down pressure, and see how God completely shatters our demand for human perfection.

While you are turning in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 3, let me catch you up on the forty years of backstory that brought Moses to this moment:

At the end of Genesis, the Hebrew people were welcomed guests thriving under Pharaoh's favor.

But by the time we open Exodus, a new king is in power who systemically strips them of their freedom and forces them into brutal, back-breaking slavery.

In the middle of this dark oppression, a Hebrew boy named Moses is miraculously rescued and raised in the absolute height of luxury, power, and education inside Pharaoh’s own palace.

He has the best resume on the planet.

But Moses tries to play the hero in his own strength.

He sees an Egyptian brutally beating a Hebrew slave, takes matters into his own hands, and murders the Egyptian.

When his crime is exposed, he is forced to run for his life.

He goes from being a wealthy prince in a royal court to being a broke, forgotten fugitive tending someone else's sheep in a quiet desert.

And he stays there for forty years. His confidence is entirely shattered.

He thinks his story is completely over.

Let’s look together at how God disrupts that forty-year silence in Exodus chapter 3, starting in verse 1.

III. TRUTH

A. The Holy Disruption (Exodus 3:1-6)

Exodus 3:1–6 ESV

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 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.

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God loves to meet us right in the middle of our ordinary wilderness, catching Moses' attention through a bush that is burning but completely unconsumed while he's just out doing his job tending sheep.

The ground rules change the moment God speaks, as He commands Moses to take off his sandals because the very dirt he is standing on is holy.

We have to recognize His holiness before He ever reveals our mission, because God isn't looking to negotiate a strategy with us; He is inviting us into His sacred presence.

NARRATIVE BRIDGE:

Now watch what happens next.

Once the environment is established as holy ground, God begins to pull back the curtain on His grand design, shifting Moses' focus from the silence of the desert to the cries of the suffering.

B. The Sovereign Vision (Exodus 3:7-10)

Exodus 3:7–10 ESV

7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

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If you look at the active verbs God uses here, it changes how you view your pain, because He explicitly says, "I have surely seen the affliction... have heard their cry... I know their sufferings."

God is never blind or deaf to the struggles of His people, even when we are sitting through decades of silence feeling completely forgotten.

The real shock comes in the divine pivot in verse 10, when God finishes describing this massive global rescue plan and then suddenly turns to an 80-year-old runaway shepherd and says, "Come, I am sending you to Pharaoh."

NARRATIVE BRIDGE:

This is where the panic hits.

Moses is listening to this massive, cosmic assignment, he looks at his own weak hands, and he instantly launches into a masterclass in making excuses.

And with every single excuse Moses throws out, look at how God reframes the problem from Moses' ability to His own presence.

C. The Five Excuses and the Sufficient Response (Exodus 3:11 - 4:17)

We begin by opening the text straight to the first of Five excuses in Exodus 3:11-12, where the scripture reads:

Exodus 3:11–12 ESV

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

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Moses starts by questioning his own identity in verse 11, looking at his flawed track record and asking, "Who am I that I should go?"

God responds by completely ignoring the request for a resume or a pep talk, and simply answers, "I will be with you."

This is the exact high-stakes dynamic we saw with Harry Truman, who looked at his background and felt the crushing weight of the gap between his small experience and the massive cosmos of World War II.

He felt like the planets had fallen on him.

Moses is sitting in the desert feeling that exact same cold sweat, looking at his own resume, remembering the man he killed, the kingdom he fled, and screaming, "Who am I?!"

But God completely redefines the math.

God essentially tells him, "Moses, you’re missing the point.

The story isn't about your capacity; it's about My presence. I AM filling the gap."

The tension escalates immediately as we move to the second pushback in Exodus 3:13-14, where the text continues:

Exodus 3:13–14 ESV

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

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Moses shifts from his identity to his lack of knowledge in verse 13, asking what he's supposed to say when people ask for the name of the God who sent him.

God answers by dropping the ultimate declaration: "I AM WHO I AM."

He reveals Himself as Yahweh—the self-existent, unchanging, all-sufficient One who is whatever His people need Him to be in the moment of crisis.

Moses doesn't back down, moving to his third logical objection at the beginning of chapter 4, verses 1-3.

Exodus 4:1–3 ESV

1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.

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Moses then exposes his deep fear of rejection in chapter 4, verse 1, arguing that the people will never believe him or listen to a single word he says.

God responds by looking at what is already in his hand, taking an ordinary, dusty shepherd's staff and turning it into a tool of supernatural power. God doesn't need you to acquire brand-new assets; He just wants to consecrate what you are already holding.

The arguments get incredibly personal as Moses shifts to his own physical limitations in Exodus 4:10-12:

Exodus 4:10–12 ESV

10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

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Moses tries to hide behind his lack of natural ability in verse 10, claiming that he isn't eloquent enough and has always been slow of speech and tongue.

God completely shatters that excuse by asking a rhetorical question, saying, "Who has made man's mouth? ... I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." Your weakness isn't an obstacle to God; it’s an opportunity for His power to be made perfect.

Finally, the masks completely come off in Exodus 4:13-14, revealing the true issue:

Exodus 4:13–14 ESV

13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

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Moses finally throws his hands up in pure deflection in verse 13, abandoning the logical arguments and just begging, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else."

God’s anger burns at the lack of faith, but His grace still provides a solution, as He gives him Aaron to act as a helper.

God will absolutely give you a community to support you, but He will not let you off the hook from your specific calling.

NARRATIVE BRIDGE:

Once the final excuse is completely exhausted, the internal debate ends.

The scene shifts from a private conversation at a burning bush to a public confrontation in the heart of Egypt, and we get to see what happens when ordinary obedience takes its first step.

D. The Triumph of Obedience (Exodus 4:18-31)

Exodus 4:19–23 ESV

19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand. 21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”

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skip down to 27

Exodus 4:27–31 ESV

27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

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The moment the excuses are finally finished, the internal paralysis breaks, and Moses stops staring at his inadequacies, packs up his family, and steps out onto the road back to Egypt.

When you choose to step out in faith, it unlocks a massive spiritual movement in the community around you, which is exactly what happens when Moses and Aaron gather the elders of Israel.

The narrative hits a stunning peak in verse 31 when the people hear that God has visited them, and the text says they immediately bowed their heads and worshiped.

Your willingness to step into your assignment without having it all figured out is the very spark God uses to lead an entire body of people into freedom.

IV. APPLICATION

BRIDGE TO APPLICATION:

When you close the page on Exodus chapter 4, it is incredibly easy to treat this like a fascinating piece of ancient history about a guy with a burning bush.

But the truth is, if we don't let this text leave the desert, we miss the entire point—because Moses' list of excuses isn't just an ancient transcript.

It is the exact same dialogue running in our heads every single week.

A. CONNECT: Recognizing the Excuse Track

We have to connect the dots between Moses' ancient panic and the constant internal dialogue running in our own minds, realizing that we routinely stay on the sidelines of our families, our workplaces, and our communities because we are whispering the exact same excuses—telling ourselves we are too uneducated, too broken, or too weak to make a difference.

The hidden danger is that we mistake our natural inadequacy for a spiritual exemption, falsely assuming that because we feel completely weak, God must have accidentally picked the wrong person for the job, when in reality, our weakness is the exact canvas He uses to display His glory.

We fall into the trap of looking at our limited personal inventory instead of looking at the unlimited "I AM," which causes us to build a wall of logic to protect ourselves from taking a risk, forgetting that the math of the Kingdom always pairs our deficit with His absolute sufficiency.

B. CHARGE: Drop the Excuses and Offer the Staff

And just like Moses and his staff, your direct charge tomorrow morning is to look closely at exactly what is currently sitting in your hand, identifying what ordinary talent, ordinary job, or ordinary resource you have been holding onto that God wants you to consecrate for His purposes.

You are called to step directly into the real-time gaps around you, including the hard conversations at your kitchen table, the ethical stands at your workplace, and the governance and leadership needs of your local church family, relying strictly on His presence rather than your preparation.

The challenge is to stop waiting for a perfect manual or a flawless timeline and simply start moving your feet, because God does not require you to have all the answers before you begin; He simply requires a surrendered life that is willing to learn on the fly while anchored to His side.

C. CHANGE: Thriving Under Sufficient Grace

When we finally stop making excuses, our entire spiritual perspective completely shifts, and we stop measuring the terrifying size of the giant against our own height and start measuring it against the Almighty.

Your private decision to obey builds massive public faith, sending a wave of supernatural encouragement through everyone around you and proving that your small steps can trigger a community aftershock that leads others to fall down and worship.

We begin to live with a radical, unshakeable peace that is entirely detached from our personal performance, because we finally realize that if the great "I AM" is with us, then our limited strength is no longer the bottleneck for what God wants to accomplish.

BRIDGE TO INSPIRATION:

And if you want to know what this looks like when it is fully realized—if you want to see how this dynamic plays out on a grand corporate scale—we can look at a powerful picture of leadership from modern naval history.

V. INSPIRATION

Think about the incredible turnaround detailed in Captain David Marquet's leadership book, Turn the Ship Around.

He was abruptly given command of the USS Santa Fe—a nuclear-powered submarine that was ranked dead last in performance, morale, and retention across the entire United States Navy.

When he stepped on board, he instantly realized the crushing weight of the gap: he had spent a year studying a completely different class of submarine, meaning he was in command of a high-stakes, lethal vessel whose specific systems he didn't fully understand, leading a crew that had been trained for passive compliance.

The breakthrough happened when he threw out the traditional, top-down leadership model, completely refusing to issue standard, top-down orders. Instead of forcing information to travel up the chain of command to a single "expert" leader, he pushed decision-making authority down to the people who actually possessed the immediate information, forcing his crew to stop waiting for permission and start declaring, "Captain, I intend to...”, and the Captain would ask questions and the crew member had the answers and knew what they were doing.

This completely redefined what leadership looked like on that vessel, transforming the Santa Fe from the absolute worst boat in the fleet to the single highest-rated crew in naval history, creating a leadership factory where his officers went on to command their own ships.

This is the exact same safety mechanism we have to shatter right here in our own community, where we love the concept of ownership but paralyze ourselves when a real-world vacuum opens up.

We often look at things like the upcoming church board elections, and we pray with radical passion for God to raise up strong, dedicated leaders—but if we are completely honest, the quiet, unspoken condition in our hearts is always, "God, please send someone else, just don't pick me."

We want a front-row seat to the harvest, but we make excuses to stay out of the field because we are terrified of leading without a flawless, predetermined roadmap.

But look back at the text one last time—because this is exactly how Moses broke his own 40-year paralysis.

He didn't wait until he felt polished, he didn't wait until his stutter disappeared, and he didn't wait until Pharaoh signed a treaty.

He simply packed up his family, gripped that consecrated shepherd's staff, and stepped onto the road to Egypt.

His very first step out of the desert was a physical declaration of faith.

He looked at the staggering deficit of his own strength, looked at the sufficient presence of the Almighty, and essentially declared, "God, I see the chains, I trust Your presence, and I intend to set Your people free."

BRIDGE TO ACTION:

But just like the crew of the Santa Fe, and just like Moses on the road to Egypt, the breakthrough in our lives doesn't happen when we wait until we feel perfectly qualified.

It happens when we bring what we have, step into the gap, and take responsibility.

What does it look like for you to drop your excuses tomorrow morning?

VI. ACTION

Your first concrete challenge is to write down your number one excuse—the specific thing you use to tell God why you can't step up in your home, your job, or your church.

Once you write that excuse down, I want you to draw a thick line right through it, and boldly write "But I AM is with me" directly over top of it as a physical declaration of faith.

I want to speak directly to the pit in your stomach regarding our church board nominations, challenging you to drop the voice of inadequacy that has kept you on the sidelines, stop waiting until you feel like a polished expert, put your name forward this week, and trust that the God who calls you will sustain you.

I would love for every single member of this church to say “I want to be considered for a Board Member position”, rather than have to find people to say they are willing to participate.

And if you are not a member, come talk to me this week.

Let me know what your concern is, or why you haven't become a member yet, and maybe we can discover the answer or solution that you need to make that decision.

Your final step is to execute just one concrete action of obedience within the next week, whether that means speaking a hard truth in love, starting a family prayer time, making an ethical stand at work, or filling out that board nomination decision, trusting that God will use that small spark to build public faith.

Transition Sentence to Closing Song

"So as we stand to respond to God’s word, let’s leave our excuses at the altar, step out of our comfort zones, and sing out with the confidence that the great 'I AM' is entirely sufficient for whatever leadership He calls us into this week—let’s worship."