"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'" (Ex. 3:12, ESV).
It seems to me that the sign given to Moses is the sign of completing the task. He would only know for certain that the Lord had really called him to the task when the task was complete. He could not know apart from the doing.
Faith is never saving faith apart from being obedient. To put it another way, faith without works is dead. Thus, we demonstrate our trust in the Lord by obeying his commands. The Christian life is one of obedient faith where on knows as one does.
Let's examine Moses' situation in this passage. He gone to investigate what appeared to be a bush that was on fire, but not being destroyed. As he approaches this anomalous sight, he hears the voice of the angel of the Lord commanding him to remove his sandals. As the Lord speaks to him through the burning bush, Moses becomes acutely aware that he is hearing a message from God. Why doesn't God say to Moses, "This burning-yet-not-consumed bush is a sign unto you that I have called you to bear my message."?
The reason the Lord doesn't have to Moses that the bush is a sign is because Moses gets it. What Moses can't make out is how he will be know if he is man enough for the task. Therefore, God confirms to Moses that the sign he seeks will only be found when his journey is complete. If Moses really wants to know if he can succeed, he has to get to work.
Likewise, many of us want a sign to know if we can handle what we think God is calling us to do. However, we will never know what we are capable of until we do something. Waiting for a sign might be a humble thing to do when we are uncertain as to what the Lord would have us to do. It may also be a sign of a wicked lack of faith (see Matt. 16:4).
Uncertainty is not the lack of faith. One might be confused as to what he should be doing for the Lord, and yet be obediently trusting the Lord. Case in point, a person is asked to teach a Sunday school class. The feel reluctant to teach, because they don't think they are worthy of such a task. Although they are uncertain as to the outcome, they seek the Lord's enabling and guidance. This uncertainty is not caused by lack of faith, but a lack of clarity of one's role.
We will not know what tasks we are up to (through God's enabling) until we actually attempt to do them in his strength. Nor will God excuse us. When he calls us to a task, the sign of our success is only seen after we succeed. Just as the Lord told Moses, "Here is how you will know you can do this: one day you'll be here worshiping me," he tells us the same.
If you feel called to a task, you should know that tackling that task is the only way you will know that you are called to it. It is only by persevering through the grinding pressures of every day service that we get a sense of our calling. When you endure hardship, and know that it was not your strength that one the day, but the strength of the Lord working in and through you, only then do you know that you are living your call. That isn't to say that everyone's call is equally successful (by human standards). Remember many of the prophets (though successful in God's eyes because of their obedient faith), never experienced seeing their audiences come to repentance.
When you served the Lord with all you have, do you worship him for his kindness? There is a sign in that. The sign says he called you and equipped you for the task. It also says he forgave you for your failings along the way. But, most importantly, it says his grace is sufficient. If you really want to know if God can use you, get to work.
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