Exodus 4:2-4 – “And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, ‘A rod.’  And he said,’ Cast it on the ground.’ And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail.’ And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand.”

So, God came to Moses with a very big task. God wanted to use Moses to be the deliverer of his people. So he wanted Moses to go back to Egypt to stand before the man who the world considered to be as a god, and to say “God has said ‘Let my people go.’”

And as Moses is receiving these instructions, he begins to make excuses. He says to God several things; he says, “I am not eloquent of speech; they aren’t going to listen to me; they don’t know who I am; I don’t even know your name, God. If they ask me what god sent me I don’t know what to tell them.”

And he begins to look at the situation, viewing these instructions, but he’s viewing them from his own ability. He is looking at what God has asked of him and he is looking at his own strength, ability, and knowledge, and all of a sudden it is too big for him. He knows that he is not going to be able to accomplish what it is that is being set before him to do.

So God asks this question in response to Moses’ excuses. He asks, “What is in your hand?” And Moses, being a shepherd, had a rod in his hand. The rod was something that shepherds used to herd the sheep; they used it as protection; it was a symbol of their authority; it was something that they held onto that brought them peace and comfort. And God is pointing this out to Moses and saying “Moses, what is in your hand?” He says, “I’ve got a rod.”

It was a symbol of Moses’ strength, his comfort, his authority, it was what he knew. It was his knowledge.

God said, “I want you to take that, and I want you to throw it down.” And Moses took the rod, he threw it down, and it turned into a snake.

Now here’s the thing about this entire text: God has put us here for a purpose. I hope you don’t think that you’re here by accident. I hope you don’t think that you’re not important, that there is nothing you have been called to do or that you don’t have some type of purpose in your life. You are here for a reason. You are important. You are needed.

God has a task for you. That is why you are still breathing.

But sometimes, when we look at the things that are coming into our lives or looking at the things that are being asked of us to accomplish and to handle with our lives, we, like Moses, look at them and say, “I can’t do this. I don’t have the strength; I don’t have the knowledge. I don’t have the ability to accomplish what is being brought to me.” Just like Moses.

And, just like Moses, God wants to remind us today that all that he has ever asked of us, he has never asked us to accomplish that in our own strength, in our own ability, with our own knowledge. Rather, everything that God asks of us, God is willing and able to equip us with His knowledge, His strength, and give us the ability to handle what comes into our lives, to do what it is that He has tasked us and purposed us to do in this life.

He said “Moses, I want you to take the thing you are leaning on for strength. Your strength: cast it down.” And when he cast it down, it became a serpent. It’s scary sometimes to admit that you can’t do it. And pride gets in the way; we don’t like to admit that we’re not able. We don’t have the knowledge or the strength or ability and it can be scary.

But because Moses was able to relinquish his, he was then able to pick up God’s power. God’s strength; God’s authority; God’s knowledge.

And the rod he picked up that day, he would go on to use to deliver the people of God from bondage and to lead them into the promised land. Not the rod that he possessed, but the one that he was able to pick up only after he was able to relinquish his own and say “Not my will, but Your will be done.”

So the question I have for all of us this morning is what is in your hand? What is it you are leaning on right now, what is it you are putting your faith in, your trust your strength in, and it is not enough? And you’re wondering “How am I going to get this done, how am I going to face this? How am I going to fulfill my purpose? I’m not able!” 

And you know what, you’re probably not able! But the good news is, God is able. God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask for, or think all that he wants is for us to say “You know what Lord, I’m going to quit leaning on me and I’m going to lean on you. I’m going to quit doing it my way and do it your way. I’m going to quit doing it with what I’ve got because what I’ve got is just not getting it there. And I’m going to choose to do it with what you’ve got. 

Remember, we are J Bar. We are blessed beyond measure. We love, we are thankful beyond measure. We serve, and become the leaders God wants us to be.