Mensa Otabil - Pick It Up Again
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Exodus chapter 4, verses 4 and 5: Then the Lord said to Moses, «Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.» So he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand. This is so that they may believe that the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has appeared to you. So God asked Moses to take back the rod that had been transformed into a serpent, and He asked him to take it by the tail.
Grabbing any snake by the tail doesn’t seem like the best idea. It takes a lot of courage to do that, and interestingly, Moses didn’t question this. It seems there are things that Moses questions and things he does not. The things most of us would question, he does not, and the things we may not question, he questions. He questions whether the people will accept him, but he does not question whether he can take a snake by the tail. He is a courageous man, naturally bold, able to do these things, but he cannot accept rejection. He cannot get over his past failures. So sometimes, you have people who are naturally courageous and strong, able to do things, but there’s one particular area in their lives where their confidence is just not there.
Anyway, Moses takes the snake by the tail, and it becomes a rod again. Through this, God was demonstrating to Moses, «I have the power of life in My hands,» because the snake was a symbol of power in ancient Egypt. So God is saying to Moses, «Don’t be afraid; I can bring life, and I can take life as well.» He has the power to do that—the power of life—and He wanted Moses to demonstrate to the Israelites that he had this power to take life and to bring it. They had to trust Him to do that. So this is the sign to show to Israel. By this sign, God also shows that He can take the common to do the uncommon, and He can take the ordinary to do the extraordinary. He can do the same thing with you. The same God who did it for Moses is the God we pray to daily in the name of Jesus. If He can take the common to do the uncommon in the life of Moses, He can take the common in your life and do the uncommon.
Now, if you are familiar with the Old Testament, you would notice that after this first miracle of transformation, God continued to use this rod in the hand of Moses, and quite a number of miracles were done through the rod that God had transformed in the hand of Moses, definitely through the power of God, but symbolized by the rod. God took what was in his hand, transformed it, gave it back to him, and said, «This is how you’re going to do your battle, and this is how you’re going to prove to the people in Israel that I have sent you.»
So, are you looking for a sign? Are you looking for confirmation? Maybe you hope that somebody will give you a prophecy or that you will see a vision or something dramatic will happen for you to be assured that God will use you. All I can tell you is that you can see a burning bush and still doubt God. You can see a vision and still doubt God. The only way to trust God is to trust His word, that His word is true, and that what He has promised, He is also able to perform.
Today we also have the rod in our hand, but the rod is not a physical rod. The rod we have in our hand is called the rod of Jesse; His name is Jesus. He’s in our hearts; His name is our rod, and at the mention of His name, every knee bows. So don’t go looking for a physical rod to use to demonstrate God’s power; He’s already given you the rod. He lives inside of you; His name is Jesus. Use His name and do conquest and battle in His name.
Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, I rule over every force of darkness and evil in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.»