This week we continue our study of Moses’ comments during his encounter with the burning bush. In this study, let's look at Moses' fourth excuse, which was an answer to a question God asked Moses:
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A staff,’ he [Moses] replied” (Exodus 4:2).
Moses was concerned he would fail because of all the things he didn’t have. According to his inventory, he only had a staff. In other words, he didn’t have enough knowledge about God, he lacked the confidence, he was too old, he wasn't as powerful as he used to be, and he wouldn’t be able to respond properly to the peoples’ questions. God asked him a simple question, however: “What do you have?” Moses was honest with God; he told Him that he only had a staff, which hardly seemed adequate to accomplish the task. God went on to show him it was enough as described in Exodus 4:3-9:
The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
Will you allow God to prove to you that you do have what it takes to do His will, as long as you submit what you have to Him? Are you ready to move beyond the land of excuses to the Kingdom of obedience? Are you ready to face your fears and obey God? In the process, you must also learn to surrender what you do have to God’s empowering touch so that you will be equipped to fulfill your purpose. Why not make this the week you do those things, so you won’t delay any longer in doing what God has put in your heart to do?
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