May 8, 2022

Exodus 4: 2 (NIV)

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff," he replied.

Whatever You have called me to do, You will enable me to do it.*

After this bit of dialogue between God and Moses, God proceeds to paint a word picture by turning the rod into a snake and back into a rod; by afflicting Moses with leprosy and then healing him from it; and by telling Moses to pour some Nile River water on the ground and watch it turn to blood. All of this was for the purpose of proving Moses’ credentials as God’s spokesman to the Egyptians.

And then God revealed what he required of Moses. He didn’t ask him to pick up that staff with which he was so comfortable and adept. Moses’ hard-earned shepherding skills were a plus in the job God is calling him to, and his staff comes in handy later, but for now God wants Moses to step out of his comfort zone and become a public speaker. Moses begged him to send someone else, which made God angry, but he relented and agreed to use Moses’ more articulate brother, Aaron, to speak for him. God promised to work with Moses and Aaron, teaching them what to say and do, but Aaron would be the principal mouth-piece. Finally, God told Moses to pick up the staff so that he could perform miraculous signs with it. 

Let’s look at three life-lessons we can harvest from this passage. 

1. Most of the time, God uses us where he has already gifted us, but when he calls us to be used in ways that exceed our natural capabilities, it requires submission on our part, and it results in glory for the Lord. God used Moses mightily but what more could have been accomplished if Moses had trusted God with his weakness? 

2. If we refuse the job offer, God will find someone else to fulfill his purpose. 

3. The tools in our hands can be repurposed when we surrender them to God. A shepherd’s staff can become a magic wand! 

We all need reminders that we become useful to the Kingdom when we give back to God what he has given us.

Some of the most effective Christians I have known are people without dramatic talents and special abilities, or even exciting personalities; yet God has used them in a marvelous way. Why? Because they are becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. They have the kind of character and conduct that God can trust with blessing. They are fruitful because they are faithful; they are effective because they are growing in their Christian experience.*