by: Caleb Finch
After a two-year hiatus, our church was able to have its typically annual men’s retreat on March 4th and 5th. During this time, there was barbeque, fellowship, fun activities, great messages taught from scripture, and testimonies from men in our church who have had to rely on God in some of the most difficult and gut-wrenching circumstances. While the barbeque was delicious and the activities were fun, the most impactful things of the weekend above and beyond were the messages taught and testimonies given.
During the men’s retreat, we were blessed with four short, but poignant, messages from the Executive Director of Oklahoma Baptists, Dr. Todd Fisher. In these messages, Dr. Fisher taught on several instances of God using those who were unequipped, underqualified, and unfaithful to achieve his plans within the scriptures. One of the these who Dr. Fisher focused in on was Moses.
While we all know Moses as a great leader and man of God in the Old Testament, Dr. Fisher focused in on the calling of Moses in the wilderness at the burning bush. In this story, we see an unequipped and underqualified Moses called by God to be the leader of the then enslaved people Israel in their liberation from Egypt. God directly spoke to Moses telling him these things from within the bush, but Moses was imperfect man, apart from being murderer, he also was not a good speaker, and there was no guarantee that the Israelites would believe he was truly sent by God. However, for every excuse Moses gave God for why he could not overcome this task, God showed how, He, and not Moses would be overcoming the struggles of Moses and the situation of the Israelites. In Moses’ life and ours, the plans of God were and are not somehow accomplished by what we can do or allow God to do, but instead what He chooses graciously to do in and through us. This impactful message both comforted and challenged the men to have faith in more than themselves and their own abilities and to rely on God.
One of, if not the most, impactful things for the weekend were the testimonies given by men in the church. In these testimonies, men in our church spoke honestly of times where they had to rely on God in their times of suffering and weakness where they in their human power could not overcome their circumstances. The men who shared did not hold back on how difficult these times were and how their faith was tired. However, in each of the testimonies, the men emphasized the importance of surrendering the situation to God and having faith in his ability to overcome.
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