Mensa Otabil - What is In Your Hand? (10/03/2025)
Exodus chapter 4, verses 2 and 3. So the Lord said to him, "What is in your hand?" And 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. God responded to Moses's protest. Isn't it just gracious that the Lord of Heaven will listen to us complain and respond to us? God carefully listened to Moses, to the complaints, to the protest, and then He responded to him. But in responding to him, God helped Moses to focus, so He asked Moses to focus on what was in his hand. His question was, "What is in your hand?" He wasn't angry; He was trying to refocus Moses.
As we've learned, when God asks us a question, He is not seeking information from us; He's helping us to focus on something. So He is helping Moses to focus on something he had in his hand. That means Moses already had within his hand the tools he needed for the assignment. God was not going to bring something from outside; he already had it. And Moses said, "A rod." We are not shown the purpose of that rod; it probably was used for doing his work as a shepherd or to aid him in walking. Remember, Moses is about 80 years old at this time, so probably it was a walking stick or it was a shepherd's staff. But whatever it is, it was something he always had with him. Even in the presence of God, he didn't throw away the rod; he removed his sandals, but the rod was in his hand.
So God was using something that he was familiar with, something that he held in his hand, something that was always with him. That is how the Lord uses us. He doesn't use us by making us go and look for something that is way beyond us; He uses what we have in our hand. Many times, the things you already have that you may think have no value, no power, and no significance are the things that God will use for His glory. Then He tells Moses, "Throw it to the ground." So Moses throws the rod to the ground, and a transformation takes place. The rod becomes a snake.
So God transforms what is in Moses's hand, and it is that transformation that He was going to use for later victories. Moses threw the rod down; it became a snake, and the Bible says that Moses fled from it. I don't think he was afraid of serpents because he was a wilderness man; he was familiar with serpents. He had seen tons and tons of them; he probably dealt with them all the time. He probably used a stick to kill them, but he was surprised that this ordinary-looking stick could experience transformation. Many times, God is able to transform us in ways that shock us ourselves.
So Moses was shocked by the transformation that took place. God took something unremarkable and did something extraordinary with it. Whatever God is calling you to do, whatever He has charged you to do, if you're trying to figure out how it's going to be done, consider what you already have in your hand. It could be the training you already have; it could be a skill you already possess; it could be a relationship you already have. It could just be something that to you looks so ordinary, so powerless, and ineffective, but God sees it differently. For that great task He has for you, He has already prepared you for it; He has already put something in your hand for it. May the Lord help you to see what you have in your hand so that you can use it to execute the assignment He has for you.
Let's pray. Say with me, "Heavenly Father, You are the Lord of all power. I acknowledge the power at work through me in Jesus' name. Amen and amen." Well, I'm Pastor Mensa Otabil. I'll be with you again tomorrow. Shalom, peace, and life to you.