SCRIPTURE
Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?" Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:1-2)
OBSERVATION
Why, it's a staff. God had called Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Moses was not confident that he could do the job so he started to offer excuses. "I can't speak." "I'm not eloquent." In this passage, his initial objection to the Lord's call was, "What if they don't believe me?" God's response, "What's that in your hand?"
It's an ordinary staff. God told him to throw it on the ground. He did. It turned into a snake. See Moses run. He reached out his hand, picked it up by the tail and it turned back into a staff. God did some amazing things with that stick.
It's as if God heard Moses' objection, looked around and said, "Oh, you've got a stick in your hand. That'll work. I'll turn it into a snake so at least you will believe what I'm capable of." Perhaps, Moses wasn't so concerned about other's lack of belief as he was his own. It was an ordinary staff, yet it became extraordinary because God used it. Although God does some pretty cool stuff (i.e. the burning bush), he used an ordinary staff to show Moses who he really was.
APPLICATION
If I doubt God. If my faith is lacking. If I question what he can do. God asks me, "What is that in your hand?" (ok, sometimes it is the remote). I want to see the burning bush or the sea parted before me. But most often it is the common, ordinary stuff of my life that God uses to reveal himself. When he does, it strengthens my faith so I in turn can show him to the world.
God can show me who he is if I just look around. It's as if he says to me, "See that ordinary sunset. I made that just by speaking it into existence." "See your sometimes ornery son who you love anyway. I love you like that." "You're not the world's greatest, but if you'll let go and let me, I'll show you who I really am."
So the things in my hand, my ordinary gifts, resources, and abilities become more than I could ever imagine when I walk in obedience to God, let go, and give it to him ("throw it on the ground").
PRAYER
I Am. It's all about you and your power displayed in my life. You take my ordinary offerings and make them extraordinary.
