As God appeared to Moses in the burning bush Moses hesitated to take on the assignment which God had prepared for him. What would turn out to be one of the most significant displays of God’s authority and power ever recorded in history. Yet with great trepidation, Moses balked at his mission.
Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
“Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. The Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” (Exodus 4:1-5 CSB)
Are we all that different than Moses? God shows up in our lives in ways that may not be as fantastic as a talking, burning bush, but he does show himself in ways to get our attention just as effectively.
Notice his question to Moses; What is that in your hand? For Moses, it was a staff that he had been carrying around for years. Perhaps for the entire 40 years he was wandering around in the desert. By custom in ancient times, every man had a staff—a large, straight stick used for traveling, walking, and recording information. Often, information could be carved on the sides of the staff from top to bottom.
I ask you the same question. What is in your hand, that God wants to use to change the world? Is it a talent, skill, or ability that only you can bring to God’s Kingdom here on earth? One that he desires of you to share with others, maybe even bring a message of deliverance much the way that Moses did to his people enslaved in Egypt.
Think about it. Pray about it. Then ask God to show you what that thing in your hand can do for Jesus.
And that’s the mid-week memo.
Steve
