Steven Furtick - I Don't Know How To Handle This
This is an excerpt from: Handle It
Have you ever had a situation in your life where you were throwing a pity party and didn't want to go back in and didn't want to try again, and had taken off from Egypt and didn't even want to face your future, 'cuz of the pain of your past, but here comes Jesus, walking up to you on the second road today, on the fourth road, at the Gastan Campus walking up to you on an iPhone screen, wants to let you know, whenever you get ready to come back in and do what I've called you to do come on back in, it's handled. Somebody shout, it's handled! Shout, it's handled! It's handled. God told Moses, "You can go back to Egypt because everybody who wanted to kill you is dead. While you were out here in Egypt, I was dealing with your issues and it is handled".
Touch three people, say "It's handled". It's handled. God wants you to know shame can't keep you at bay anymore 'Cuz what Jesus was doing on that cross when they thought that he was dying he wasn't dying, he was delivering you from the power of sin and death and what was held against me was nailed to his cross and I am standing here today with my hands stretched high, with my head held high, with my shoulders thrown back, boldly approaching the road with confidence, in my time of my need, 'cuz it's handled. It's handled. I feel the spirit of Olivia Paul coming on me. Somebody shout, it's handled. Handled. That's what Ryan said, "It's handled. When you get ready to come back in you need to know, it's handled". When you get ready to go into your future you need to know, it's handled.
Somebody shout, it's handled. It's handled. I love that Bible verse in Philippians 4:13 where Paul is talking about, I know what to do in any situation. If I have a little, if I have a lot I can handle it. Because he said, This is a famous Bible verse, have you heard this before? He said, "Christ can do all things through me". Did I mess it up? Let me try again. "Christ can do", 'cuz he is gonna handle it, right? Christ can do all things through me. God's gonna handle it. Huh? Oh He wants to help you handle it. Here is how God showed me, he said, "I will handle what you can't, but I will not handle what you won't. See, I handle your sin, you can't handle that. I handle your past, you can't handle that". But, he told Moses, let me show you one more thing. Sit down. He told Moses, Somebody shout, Handle. Handle. He told Moses, he said, "Pick it up".
Now, it's not a staff anymore in this moment, it's a snake. So, what does Moses do? He does what you do with your fears, and he runs. Did you see it in the text? It said, what verse was it? Was it three? Where he ran? Was it three? Yeah, and he ran from it. That's the same thing that he did when he killed the man in Egypt. He has learned to run. He has learned to run. And, God won't handle what you run from. So, he runs. Can you all hear me okay? In the back? Oh, I know what I should do. 'Cuz this thing only works in my hand. This is a good sermon for your life, for your marriage, for your soul, for any situation. God tells him to reach for the thing that he has been running from. And as he reaches, watch this, as he reaches, the staff changes back into a staff. As he reaches. We gotta work on this. Ya'll weren't paying attention.
Go to 4:17. Exodus 4:17 I am almost done. I will hasten to a close. When he told him to go, L.J., he said, "But take this staff," Everybody shout. Come on shout the phrase, it's in bolded orange letters for a reason. Take the staff (in your hand) Hit me with 20 real quick. I think it is 20. "So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God (in his hand)". Next verse, when he was confronting Pharaoh he said, "Go out and confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take (in your hand) the staff that was changed into a snake". You seeing a pattern? I'll keep going, next verse, until you all see it. When they were standing in front of the Red Sea he said, "Raise your staff and stretch out your (hand)". Right, right, it's gotta be in your (hand). It's gotta be in your (hand). Go to the next verse. What's the next verse? Oh, that's when they were going out and he was going out ahead of the people and he said, "Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile".
Here is the interesting thing and this is what the LORD wanted you to know: his situation was changing, but the same staff that got him through the last one worked in the next one when he had it in his hand. The only time that Moses got in trouble with his staff is when he struck the rock that God told him to speak to and he didn't enter the promise land because he didn't know how to handle what was in his hand. You get into trouble when you try to handle it your way. You get in trouble when you try to resolve it your way. You get in trouble when you try to take the snake by the head. See, that was interesting to me. We just moved out into the country 2 years ago, and everybody was giving me advice, Greg, on being in the country. I think they were worried about me, that I wouldn't know what to do and how to survive in the country. And, they were right.
So, I welcome their advice. And everybody was telling me, "Now you're gonna have snakes for the first time. So, here is what you need to do with the snake". And you know what nobody told me? Nobody told me to handle a snake the way God told Moses to handle a snake. Nobody... Go back to verse 4, he said, "Reach out your (hand) and," what? "Take it by the tail". Nobody told me to take the snake by the tail. 'Cuz that's not the way you handle a snake, naturally. Take it by the... Ya'll look confused. I'm not doing my job, am I? I gotta get this right. He said, "Take it by the (tail)". See the way we try to grab situations in our life is we want to control it. That's not the right way to hold it. He said, "Take it by the (tail)". Take it by the (tail).
Now, to take a snake by the tail and I will remind you, that the snake didn't change back into a staff until it was in Moses' hand. Your issue is not going to change until you handle it. Your pain is not going to become your purpose until you handle it. But, if you handle it your way, you're gonna be depressed about it. But, if you handle God's way, God's work, God's way. God's will, God's way. God's word, God's way. You've done it long enough your way. It's time for you to do it God's way and it's time for you to take it by the tail. God told me to tell you, you feel it don't you? God said that mistakes happen, but when they happen take em by the tail, and trust me to turn your mistake into a miracle. When you take it by the tail, when pain and rejection happen in your life your rejection in one season, can lead to your destiny in the next, when you take it by the tail. I came to say, that what they said about you isn't gonna destroy you, it's only gonna develop you, to make you stronger, to give you a steadfastness, when you take it by the tail.
You know what you're gonna do with that Dr.'s report? Take it by the tail. You know what you're gonna do with that loneliness? Take it by the tail. You know what you're gonna do with everything that's been keeping you up at night, worried wringing your head, this isn't my problem, this isn't my issue, the battle is the LORD's. He'll handle Pharaoh. I got this thing by the tail. I'll trust you LORD. Does anybody trust him in your situation? So, I trust God enough to take it by the tail. And it only changes when you handle it.
As long as you stand there looking at it, it's a snake. As long as you stand there praying about it, it's a snake. You can't pray and make the snake go away. Pray about it, pick it up, and make it work. Come on. Come on. Make it, come on. Make it work in your favor. I'm saying, handle it. I'm saying, there is nothing life can throw at you that you can't handle by the Spirit of God. Somebody shout, I can handle it! Somebody encourage 5 people in your area tell em, you can handle it. You can handle it. You can handle it. Yes, you can! You've gotta handle it. You've gotta handle it. You were made to handle it. You were built to handle it. God's gonna help you handle it. He's gonna show you how to handle it. He's got you in the palm of his hand. He's gonna help you raise those children. He's gonna help you get through this season. He's gonna help you make the decision. Lift your hands like it's handled. Come on, lift your voice like it's handled.