I Got A Stick
Emmanuel, my son, was affectionately known as an “earth child” when he was young, and it didn’t take long to see why. Give him a few minutes outside, and you’d find him happily engrossed with dirt, rocks, mud or sand. Yet, above all, a simple stick held the most value for him. You see, in his mind, he wasn’t holding a stick, he was holding potential. If asked what was in his hand, there was no telling how he was going to respond. He could say a sword, a gun, a spear, or anything else that sparked his imagination.
Scripture is full of examples of God using the simple for His purposes. For example:
A Stone for a Giant
- “As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.” 1 Sam 17:48-49, NLT)
A Jar for a Debt
- “And Elisha said, ‘Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.’ So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim”! (2 Kings 4:2-6, NLT)
A Bath for Healing
- “So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!” (2 Kings 5:14, NLT)
Now I imagine that young Moses, might have been a lot like my son, Emmanuel and learned to play with sticks at an early age. Moses probably had play sword fights, through stick spears, hunted lions and fought dragons as well ☺. Those sticks often became the framework of their adulthood and in the case of Moses, the stick became a staff. A staff that represented the power of God.
We pick up Moses’ story in Exodus 4. He is arguing with God about going back to Egypt. Finally, in exasperation, God asks “what is in your hand?” A fancy stick, called a Shepard’s Staff. Moses follows God’s command and the staff becomes a snake. Now Moses, stick in hand, is ready to engage the great nation of Egypt with its mighty chariots and army. Finally, Pharoah temporarily accepts defeat and allows the Israelites to leave Egypt. It seems as though Moses and his stick have won until Pharoah’s army traps against the Red Sea. They face certain death and Moses cries out to God in desperation. And God responds, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.” (Exodus 14:15-16, NLT)
So, what’s in your hand today? What simple, ordinary thing has God placed in your life that He wants to use for His purpose? Just like a child sees potential in a stick, we are challenged to see God’s potential in the simple things He has given us.
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matt 17:20, NLT)
EM