Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘TheLordhas not appeared to you.’ ” So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
One of the most scary things in life is when someone calls you to do something challenging, something that you feel ill-equipped to perform. There have been many such moments in my life; the first one that comes to mind is when I was left in charge of my boss’s shrub nursery. I was given my duties to field phone calls and propagate cuttings to fill the polytunnels, under the watchful eye of Ramsey the border collie who was happy if I threw his ball occasionally. In time I found I had a knack for the job and my boss was well pleased with the results; I felt good. Years later I was challenged in a very different way at church, to share my testimony and then eventually to preach – yet again I felt unworthy. The good news was that in His strength and guidance, all went well, and I felt good again.
In today’s scripture, we read of Moses who has been given a job to do by God, and Moses feels ill-equipped for it. The doubts of Moses’ humanity had him fearing the rebuke of men; the same is true of us today when God gives us a job to do. God uses what is common to Moses, his shepherd’s rod, to be a sign before him of God’s intention. The same is true in our life; God will use our everyday life to encourage us, that He is with us as we serve Him. Look at the story of how God turned Moses’ rod into a snake, and then asked him to pick it up! Moses was fearful for sure, but he obeyed God. Sometimes God will ask us to do things that to us don’t make sense or are downright scary, but if we follow His commands we will see His purpose eventually…without touching any snakes.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. 1 Corinthians 1:27-28
Dear Reader, are you being challenged by God today? Does your Father God want you to do something that you feel ill-equipped to do? Be encouraged by the story of Moses and the big old snake, he trusted God despite what his fears said. Don’t worry about what others say, God is in control. Moses was a smelly lowly shepherd but God sent him to the king of Egypt, and he went. Your God is a Mighty God, He will use you in His power!
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures
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