Exodus 4:1-3, Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
“What is that in your hand?” the Lord asked Moses. Moses said, “It’s a staff.” It was nothing more than a rod, a piece of wood used by a shepherd to herd uncooperative sheep. A piece of wood, itself a branch, shorn of any smaller branches, twigs, or buds: devoid of any signs that it once was alive. A piece of wood worn smooth by much handling, blasted by the desert winds and hardened by the blazing sun. “What is that in your hand?” Not much, just a glorified stick. Good to have when walking about the desert, but not much else. |
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Think about the man who held this stick. Frankly, it was held by the hands of a loser: Moses. Consider briefly the outline of his life. Once regarded as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he was a prince in Egypt, educated at the university, trained in the art of diplomacy. His hands displayed the perfumed, manicured fingernails of a dignitary, an aristocrat who was clothed in fine linens. These were hands that knew nothing of common labor and calluses. These were hands that were familiar with the leather reigns of an Egyptian chariot, but knew nothing of the chisel, hammer, or saw.
But there was something else about his hands. They were hands that had shed human blood. These were the hands of a fugitive who fled Egypt with only the clothes on his back. These hands, unaccustomed to the rigors of outdoor life, soon learned the pain of bruises and blisters. For forty years his companions had been the social climbers of Pharaoh’s court, the beautiful people of the Egyptian upper crust. Now his social network consisted of desert nomads and their herds, a few lizards, and the occasional vulture! For forty years, his life was filled with politics and court intrigue. Now the highlight of his day was finding a patch of desert, green with vegetation for the feeding of his flock.
But God was not through with Moses. He wanted what was in his hand. And God used that stick, transforming it for his service. More importantly, he used the loser whose hands held that insignificant stick! When it was all done, Moses led the nation of Israel from bondage in Egypt to freedom in Canaan. Now, the question for each one reading these words is the same: “What is in your hands?” What is there for God to touch and make suitable for his service? However significant, however insignificant, God is not limited but can use the most ordinary people and the most unexceptional things to accomplish his purposes! With Moses, God used a loser and an old stick! What wonder does God want to perform- now- through your hands?
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