Good, Fearless Stewardship
Read It Aloud: And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. 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 (Exodus 4:1-4).
Ponder It Prayerfully: “They will not believe me.” Moses still needed his faith built up slightly. He knew that he had a huge task ahead of him and wanted clarification, if not for himself, then for the people of Israel, that God had indeed sent him. They had rejected him once already, when he tried to stop a fight (Exodus 2:13). What if it happened again? He wanted to know for sure that his mission was divine.
“What is that in thine hand?… A rod.” This was his shepherd’s staff, the tool of his work. He needed it to make a living because without it, he could not control his sheep. He needed it to fight off wild animals and to pull the sheep close to him when they strayed.
When Moses cast the rod to the ground, it became a serpent. When he took it up by the tail, it became a rod again.
Be A Doer (James 1:22): God answers our genuine questions. He is willing to confirm His word to us if we ever doubt. Here, we see like Moses that the things we seem to depend on for our daily livelihood can actually cause us harm, but when they are in our control – when we “take the rod up” understanding that it can change into a snake that can bite, then we are no longer attached to it but to the God it submits to. We are told in verse 20 that Moses rod had become the rod of God. Having faith in God can help us to conquer difficult circumstances as well as to master our professions and money instead of having them master us. No matter how dangerous a situation looks, if we do not fear and trust God, following His leading, we will be conquerors in all things.
Hide It In Your Heart (Psalm 119:11): Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
Pray it Personally: Father in heaven, thank You for the guidance You provide and for the miracles You work in my life. Let money or my calling never master or control me. Teach me to be a good steward. Help me to be confident when You send me and to continually trust that You will show Yourself strong in the mission that You have called me to accomplish, in Jesus’ Name.
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