What is that in your hand?
It’s a new year, and let’s face it, you may not “feel” a difference compared to say…last month. The start of a new year is always a time to start afresh. New year’s resolutions, crazy goals, and finally doing what you have been holding off for all of 2019 has probably been a focus for you. You may have even attended a vision board party or two! All these are great things, but I want to encourage you to approach these things a little differently this year by asking yourself a question. “What is that in your hand?”
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
Exodus 4:1-3
“What is that in your hand?” was the same question the Lord asked Moses when Moses doubted the assignment that the Lord had given him to fulfill. A lot of times we spend our focus on what we do not have.
“God, I can’t preach,”
“God I don’t have the money for this graduate program, why apply?”
“I wish I could give more money to the church, I just don’t have enough.”
“I don’t have what I need to start that business!”
“God I never approached a lady before!”
“See the way my family is set up, they can never see the Lord.”
So many things we say we cannot do. So many things we think cannot happen. But, what if they actually could happen? A change in MINDSET is the key for major changes in your life and the lives of those around you.
When the Lord puts something on our hearts, it is for a purpose, not just for the sake of telling the whole world God spoke to you. #ouch. What do you have already? Although the goal may seem unattainable, consider what the Lord has already given you. What talents, gifts & abilities do you possess? What WORD has He given you? In Matthew 16, Peter receives a revelation about Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. Because Peter grasps this revelation with a deep understanding, an understanding made so personal to him, the Lord Jesus was able to now use that understanding to build more understanding. He said, “on THIS rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).” In that very moment I doubt Peter had any clue what that really meant, but guess what? He obtained the word. That was what Peter “had.” Later it's seen in the book of Acts that Peter indeed played a major role in beginning the Church that we are all a part of today
You may be skilled in cooking, gathering people, language, evangelism, marketing, videography, teaching… And guess what? You don’t need to attain an advance level of these things before launching out. Again, “what is in your hand? What do you CURRENTLY have? That is where you start. For Moses, what he had was a past, and experiences that he deemed worthless to the assignment at hand. If you study the story of his life, you will find that he was adopted, raised in Egypt, committed murder, and exiled himself. When the Lord asked him to throw what he had to the ground (a staff), God made his dim past useable for what was to come. Moses, who was raised in the systems of Egypt, used that experience to effectively penetrate into the house of Pharaoh. The guilt and shame he experienced after committing murder was used as a turning point to understand God’s mercy and express the same to the Israelites that were in bondage. On top of all these things, God spoke a word of purpose and assignment that Moses held onto and built upon daily as long as he believed.
So, some encouragement to you. You need a word from God. Is there a verse that God has given you? Is there a vision He has made clear to you? It is only the word of God that can empower you and sustain the work. God constantly reminded Moses that he was chosen to deliver the Israelites. What is the God given talent or ability that you have? Are you using it? Paul encouraged Timothy to stir up the gift of God inside of him, to not be overcome by fear and let it come forth. Start that prayer circle at work, evangelize to your neighbor, start that business. Don’t despise the day of humble beginnings (Zechariah 4:8). Don’t focus on what you don’t have or can’t do. Instead, focus on what you do have. Though it may be small, build it in faith! You will do well.