“Do Not Rely Upon Yourself”
 
                                                                                                                                    I will be with thee (Ex.3, 12)
 
When did Moses hear these words? When did he need them the most to inspire him to a great and enormous zeal? There was time when he held a high position of a foster child of the king, when he considered himself strong and wise and moved himself, in this  carnal power,  to help his people. And what came out of it? Complete fiasco, great misfortune. And Moses had to flee from the angry Pharaoh and his co-citizens. That was the time of his patience and repentance. He had to flee to the desert and do the most humble work there – be a herdsman. He had to humble himself, deny himself and his own power. When he learned that lesson, God called this ready weapon to work and ordered him to go and free His people.

Self-reliance disappeared and Moses was asking God to send someone else instead. Then there was the time for God to encourage His chosen one by promising: “I will be with thee”. Don’t be confused by your weakness, glory to God that you realized that, the Almighty is telling you: “I will be with thee!” Let every one of us think this over and find something for ourselves here.

Don’t we all know what it means to take over something by just ourselves? Counting on ourselves and our good intentions only? Not being prepared and sent by God, man throws himself onto a certain path, suffers complete failure and often does not realize why. We have to experience the consequences of our self-reliance when we think we can do something ourselves, that we don’t need God. May God grant humility to this kind of soul, which has forgotten Him, put down its weapons and realize its powerlessness and look upon the One, Who humbled it to bring to the high of highest, complete submission and dependence on Him. Christ said: “Without me ye can do nothing” (Jn.15, 5) Let’s say this and Amen. Let the time come, when our only support will be this promise: “I will be with thee”

(Translated by Tatiana Rozzell from “Every Day is a Gift from God. Diaries of an Orthodox Priest”, author unknown)