‘What is that in your hand?’ Exodus 4:2 NIV
The Bible says, ‘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?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake.’ (Exodus 4:1–3 NIV) Throwing down your staff, the thing you lean on, is frightening and counter-intuitive to all of us who are control freaks. But as long as you hold on to it and try to control it, God can’t use it. In golf, when an amateur wants to drive the ball further they grip the club tighter, but it has the opposite effect. The key to a long drive is loosening your grip. Moses’ staff represented his identity and security. It was the way he made his living as a shepherd, and the way he protected himself and his flock. So when God told him to throw it down, he was asking Moses to let go of who he was and what he had. Question: What are you not willing to let go of? Answer: You don’t control whatever it is you’re holding on to, it controls you. If you don’t throw it down, your staff will forever remain only a staff. But if you have the courage to surrender it to God, it can become the lightning rod of His miraculous power. What’s in your hand today? You can hang on to it and see what you can do, or hand it over and see what God can do. Today let God use what you’ve got.
SoulFood: Ex 36–38, Jn 4:39–54, Ps 87, Prov 27:4–6
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
