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 (CEB)
Reading: Exodus 3:13-14; Exodus 4: 1-15
The story of Moses is one that many are familiar with. Moses was born a Hebrew. When he was an infant, he was laced in a basket and floated in the Nile River to escape from being killed. Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses and raised him as her own. So Moses grew up living the good life with Pharaohs. One day Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave and he wanted to help, so he killed the Egyptian (an interesting way of helping). Word got back to Pharaoh and needless to say Moses was on run for his life, so he left Egypt and never looked back. He ended up settling somewhere, else got married, and was content with his new life hoarding sheep. When Exodus 3 picks up, Moses was taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep and he led them to the desert, and came to the mountain Horeb. That’s when he encountered a bush in flames, but he bush was not burning up. God spoke to Moses through the bush and told Moses that He was sending him to Pharaoh to deliver the children of Israel from slavery. God also told Moses to tell the Israelites that He sent Moses to deliver them from the hands of the Egyptians.
Even though God assured Moses several times that He would be with Him, Moses still doubted. Like Moses, we focus on our weakness, but God focuses on His power and the gifts He has placed within us. When Moses asked God what to do if the children of Israel didn’t believe him or didn’t listen to him, God replied by asking “What is in your hand?” In Moses hand was an everyday Shepard’s rod that God would use to perform miracles. God can and will use the everyday ordinary to do the extraordinary.
Right now many of us are asking God how were are going to get through this COVID-19 pandemic, deal with unemployment, be teacher and mother or father, provide for our families, continue to do work from home while trying to keep kids in order, fight depression while we are secluded from other people, battle addiction while we are all alone, adjust to being with our spouses 24/7, deal with being single and secluded, try to teach students virtually who barely pay attention in person, doctor and nurse on ill patients while praying for protection for ourselves, and just deal with not being able to have physical interactions the way we’re used to. Let’s face it….truth is that our whole world has been turned upside down. Yet, still God is asking us: What is in your hand? Until we are able to focus on what God as placed in our hands more than what we feel we lack, we will not walk in our full purpose.
The beauty is that even though Moses consistently doubted, God loved him so much that He gave him help. Exodus 4:7-10 details Moses providing several excuses to God as to why he was not the right person to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Every time Moses told God why he couldn’t do something, God told Moses why he could. God could have used another person, but He didn’t. What God has planned for you is for you. Some of us think we can get out of our godly assignments, but God plans always prevail. After God told Moses that Moses’ brother Aaron could speak on his behalf, that killed all arguments. Sometimes, God just has to shut us up.
I don’t know who I am speaking to, but you have been making excuse after excuse about why you cannot do what God has told you to do. Each time you make an excuse, God gives you provision to overcome and reminds you that He is the “I AM who I AM” (see Exodus 3:14). When Moses kept making excuses about his speech and his stutter, God reminded Moses that He is the one that gives people the power to speak. But God’s power wasn’t enough for Moses. What have you been telling God that He is not enough for?
God is the “I AM who I AM.” This means that God is EVERYTHING you need. He will take the gifts He has placed in your hand and do the impossible. NO MORE EXCUSES! With God on your side all things are possible that He has assigned or led you to do. You may have to do it scared, but all that matters is that you do it.
What God calls us to do many times looks foolish to the world. It doesn’t make sense that a stuttering murderer, with only a rod, could overtake a country and its army to set a whole nation of people free. It doesn’t make sense that a young boy could slay a giant with just a slingshot. It doesn’t make sense that a small army of people could bring down the Wall of Jericho by walking around the wall one time a day for seven days straight. It doesn’t make sense that a quiet, stuttering, little girl from the small town of Jackson, Georgia born into a family plagued with alcoholism, incarceration, and high school dropouts, but with a praying grandmother and mother, would be an attorney to speak for companies and individuals alike. I’m sure if I would hear your full story, it wouldn’t make sense either. God doesn’t make sense (yup I said it! lol). Stop trying to make your life and your purpose logical because it is not. If our lives were defined by logic and reason, then we would not need God.
Focus on what God has placed in your hand, and trust Him to be your “I AM.”God says I AM _________________.You can fill in the blank with whatever it is that you need. There is nothing you need that God cannot supply. However, true faith is knowing that God can supply, but still standing and believing if He doesn’t. Yup, that’s tough because you’re wondering why God didn’t heal your mother, father, or grandmother, or aunt. You’re wondering why you got laid off your job or got sick, or why your husband or wife walked out on you, or why you have struggled the way you have. I don’t have the answers to your questions. What is I can say is that God does all things for our good, and ultimately for the good of His purpose. There are untapped resources, gifts, and strengths in you that can only be discovered in adversity.
The good news is that God didn’t leave you empty. You have something in your hand. You have greatness in your hand. You have power in your hand. You have authority in your hand (don’t go pimp slapping people though lol). You have life in your hands. Many of you have the answers you seek already in your hand. You won’t fail, because God never fails. USE WHAT’S IN YOUR HANDS.
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