God can use past failures, as we see in the story of Moses and the burning bush. Moses was born to a Hebrew family at a time when Pharaoh had ordered all the Hebrew baby boys to be killed. Through divine providence, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses and raised him as an Egyptian in the palace. Thus, Moses had an excellent education and was well-versed in palace protocol.
Understanding God’s Timing
Exodus 2: 11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.
13 The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight.
14 The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”
Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” 15 And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian. [1]
It appears that Moses wanted to save his people from cruel slavery. But instead of seeing him as a leader, the people reported the murder to Pharaoh, and Moses left the country. Moses had the correct thought, but it wasn’t God’s time for him to become the leader of his people. He had more to learn.
God Doesn’t Waste Anything
In Midian, he married a woman and worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law. He did this for forty years and learned how to survive in the wilderness. He also came to know the geographical area. Thus, Moses was shepherding sheep as the story of the burning bush begins. Exodus 3:1One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.[2]
More than likely, the dream of freeing his people from slavery had faded long ago because he felt like a failure from his earlier experience. Yet, Moses knew Pharaoh, palace protocol, and now wilderness survival. Even though Moses was eighty years old, he had a wealth of knowledge to lead God’s people. God had used all of Moses’ past experiences to prepare him for the massive task of leading the nation of Israel out of Egypt.
God continues to use all of our past experiences to train us for the next season of our lives. Even if we have failed in the past, God can redeem these experiences and use them for His good. God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin so we can receive forgiveness for our failures.
To learn more about how God can use past failures, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/god-in-the-midst-of-change
[1-2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.