What is that in your hand?

So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground,” (Exodus 4:2-3, NKJV)

What a week!

I just poured out my heart trying to get my website up, so that people can find out easily what training I provide.

And to top it all off, I fell sick earlier this week. Those of you who have met me or had lessons with me this week know that now my voice is good for doing Elvis imitations and very little else.

I actually wanted to talk about something else this week, but finishing up my website just triggered off something else in me, so I decided to just flow with that a bit.

When I clicked through my website and read through my text again, I realized the depth and breath of worship-related info and experience I have. Reading my descriptions gave me a somewhat surreal feeling, as if it was not possible for a person to accumulate that much skill and knowledge within a short period of time.

So that got me thinking. How did I ever get it? And how can you get it too?

First, you need to realize that the raw materials you need got whatever ministry you are called for are already in you.

Remember Moses? We tend to look at his calling and his ministry, but forget that his rod, a humble piece of wood, was the instrument he had in his hand at the moment God called. That was the same rod he bashed a few serpent’s heads’ with, brandished in the air to frighten off wolves, and used to poke straying sheep back in line.

I don’t know about you, but if I were Moses and knew that God wanted to use MY rod to do miracles, I’d get a new one, polish it, engrave some cool logo on it (together with my mission statement, website address and contact info) and then present it to God, fully expecting God to be impressed.

Didn’t happen that way.

Yes, I know that we’ll always have to upgrade our skills, strive for excellence and all that. But we have to remember that we do all that with the rod that is already in our hands. That rod which is mundane and normal to us, which we use to get through life, the rod which we most likely despise (make light of)

And that is what I’d like to bring up with you now.

What is that you have in your hand?

It can be just your physical body, your better-than average intellect, your money, your experience with computers, sports or music (as in my case).

Or if you despise all that, then how about your time?

Consider this: if you took 3 years to attend a tae-kwon-do class every week you’d get a black belt by then.

If you read a new chapter of the Bible everyday for three years (15 minutes a day) you’d have finished reading the whole Bible, New AND Old Testament.

If you choose to study one book of the Bible in some depth each month, you’d finish the whole Bible in 5 years. (If you start from Genesis, Obadiah, Haggai, 2 John and 3 John won’t take you a whole month each, trust me).

And you’d have a grasp of Scripture that many people I’ve met don’t have. How about using that to start ministering to God’s people?

Now when you take the rod in your hand and cast it down on holy ground, what’s gonna happen?

That’s right! Just like Moses, it’s gonna become a serpent!

You’re gonna see the evil within your gift. I never knew the dangers and character challengers of a worship ministry until I cast my gifting on the ground. I discovered things within myself that I never knew, none of which I was proud of.

And when that happens to you, you have two choices.

You can run away. “I need to get my heart right” “I need to deal with my inner pride” (makes you sound humble, thus feeding your pride even more) or “I want to serve God for the right reasons” or other religious excuses are perfect for this. Your church leaders will be impressed (I won’t) but at the root of it all you are running away.

Or you can do what God told Moses, which is to stay there, reach out your hand (“Won’t the serpent bite me?”) and grab the serpent by the tail.

And when you do that, you’re saying to God “I can’t take care of the head. YOU take care of it!”

And it will become a rod again. But this time, it’s one that you have seen become a serpent. You know that it’s poisonous, capable of great evil, and that it’s now a rod, an instrument of God’s work and miracle-power, by God’s grace and his grace alone.

When you step forth into whatever ministry you are called for, that God has purposed for you, you begin to live life in such an exciting and fulfilling way, that you’re gonna wonder why on earth you took so long to get started.

So get started!

Prayer time: Well, pray for me that I’ll recover even faster than this. Taking this enforced rest period (“huh? You call this rest?”) to wait upon God even more than usual. Pray with me, that I may hear God clearly concerning details in my life direction. Thanks, everyone!