What Is That in Your Hand?
Posted in doubt, fear, Patty's Posts, Sanctification, service 0 comments
Moses answered, "What if they do not believe 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).
Remember this great story of Moses? He and Abraham are the biggest names in the Bible, aside from Jesus of course. Their deeds are recalled throughout the Old Testament. They are among several saints mentioned in Hebrews 11, sometimes called the "Faith Hall of Fame."
Yet look at Moses' rocky beginning. God turned his shepherd's staff into a snake and said, "This is so they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers ... has appeared to you" (Exodus 4:5). Yet even after witnessing this miracle, Moses tells God he is "slow of speech and tongue." When God assures Moses that He will give him the words to say, Moses has the audacity to say, "Please send someone else" (Exodus 4:13).
Have you ever done that? Has God told you to do something, and you groused and told Him to go find somebody else? Perhaps you, like Moses, thought you were unfit for what He asked you to do. Maybe you suffer from low self-esteem, and think that surely God could never use you. But you're wrong.
When Moses started with the "what-ifs," God asked, "What is in your hand?" God was trying to convey to Moses that he didn't have to be a stellar communicator. All he had to do was entrust himself -- and whatever was in his hand -- completely to God. The point is that it's not about what YOU think you may or may not possess talent-wise; God's power is what makes the difference. He will use what you have, if you release it to Him for His purposes. A mere shepherd's staff was used to perform some of the greatest miracles the world has ever seen.
As I read this story, I perceived another interpretation to the "what is in your hand" query. I think sometimes God asks us that question because He wants to employ our hands to do His work, but they are so full of other things that He can't use them. Remember the "cares of the world" mentioned in Mark 4:19? Jesus warns that they will choke the Word in us and render us unfruitful. Are you carrying burdens around that God never intended for you to carry, simply because you can't or won't let go? God may be waiting to pour abundant blessing into your hands, but they are so filled with other things that you are incapable of receiving.
If your hands are full, but not of the right things, it's time to let go. Perhaps you have been unable to serve God for a long time because you are bound up in bitterness and unforgiveness. I have been there, and it's not fun. Victim mentalities have no place in the kingdom of God.
What is in your hand? I encourage you today to examine your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if you have been holding back from giving yourself completely to God because you doubt your giftings or you feel awkward and clumsy as a Christian. Maybe you compare yourself too much to other Christians and tend to give up because you know you could "never be as good as (fill in the blank)."
Friends, God doesn't WANT you to be like anybody else. He created you with unique personality traits and giftings, and He wants to use all of that to bring glory to himself. Allow the ugly, nasty things you may have experienced to become useful tools in the hands of your Maker. He is a master at bringing beauty out of the ashes (Isaiah 61:3).
Remember this great story of Moses? He and Abraham are the biggest names in the Bible, aside from Jesus of course. Their deeds are recalled throughout the Old Testament. They are among several saints mentioned in Hebrews 11, sometimes called the "Faith Hall of Fame."
Yet look at Moses' rocky beginning. God turned his shepherd's staff into a snake and said, "This is so they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers ... has appeared to you" (Exodus 4:5). Yet even after witnessing this miracle, Moses tells God he is "slow of speech and tongue." When God assures Moses that He will give him the words to say, Moses has the audacity to say, "Please send someone else" (Exodus 4:13).
Have you ever done that? Has God told you to do something, and you groused and told Him to go find somebody else? Perhaps you, like Moses, thought you were unfit for what He asked you to do. Maybe you suffer from low self-esteem, and think that surely God could never use you. But you're wrong.
When Moses started with the "what-ifs," God asked, "What is in your hand?" God was trying to convey to Moses that he didn't have to be a stellar communicator. All he had to do was entrust himself -- and whatever was in his hand -- completely to God. The point is that it's not about what YOU think you may or may not possess talent-wise; God's power is what makes the difference. He will use what you have, if you release it to Him for His purposes. A mere shepherd's staff was used to perform some of the greatest miracles the world has ever seen.
As I read this story, I perceived another interpretation to the "what is in your hand" query. I think sometimes God asks us that question because He wants to employ our hands to do His work, but they are so full of other things that He can't use them. Remember the "cares of the world" mentioned in Mark 4:19? Jesus warns that they will choke the Word in us and render us unfruitful. Are you carrying burdens around that God never intended for you to carry, simply because you can't or won't let go? God may be waiting to pour abundant blessing into your hands, but they are so filled with other things that you are incapable of receiving.
If your hands are full, but not of the right things, it's time to let go. Perhaps you have been unable to serve God for a long time because you are bound up in bitterness and unforgiveness. I have been there, and it's not fun. Victim mentalities have no place in the kingdom of God.
What is in your hand? I encourage you today to examine your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if you have been holding back from giving yourself completely to God because you doubt your giftings or you feel awkward and clumsy as a Christian. Maybe you compare yourself too much to other Christians and tend to give up because you know you could "never be as good as (fill in the blank)."
Friends, God doesn't WANT you to be like anybody else. He created you with unique personality traits and giftings, and He wants to use all of that to bring glory to himself. Allow the ugly, nasty things you may have experienced to become useful tools in the hands of your Maker. He is a master at bringing beauty out of the ashes (Isaiah 61:3).
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