EXO 4:1-4 ESV
Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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How many times have I looked at this calling and listened to the voice that told me, “You can’t do this. Look at you. You are filth, you don’t look anything like Christ. You are going to fail and bring upon yourself the wrath of God because you are mistaken. This isn’t for you. Only other people whose lives are perfect and holy can serve God! Not you!”
And how many times did I foolishly believe those lies as truth? I cry, I cry, the tears fall like rain. But then, I realize this was my journey. This was my lesson. Those less didn’t prevail against me, they led me into the lives of those friends that I now hold so dear to my heart. It led me to the friends that might read this and not yet have this Christ alive in their lives, but that are curious enough about what in the world is going on with Harold lately.
Yes, there are those that laugh and deny all of this as something made up in my own mind, or a fairy tale that I have bought into. But friend, when it manifests real changes in your life, when miracles occur before your own eyes that you can’t explain even with your understanding of the sciences – it is then that your faith is proven real to a point that you can’t deny it.
And yes, sometimes we see these things and they freak us out! We run from them not knowing if it is from the Lord or from the devil, because it can be some pretty scary business to encounter things that go past the normal, physical realm life of science that we have grown accustomed to in our lives. Just like I laughed at Moses running away in this passage, I laugh at myself for running away.
No weapon formed against me shall prosper because I have Christ in me, so why do I have so little faith that I run? Shouldn’t I see that God gives me the power to pick this snake up by its tail and He will turn it into my staff? He will use even what may appear to be an enemy as a tool for my growth and my path and my direction.
Glory be to God!
Let us be bold and renewed in our faith today, Lord. Let us take up this calling in our lives to love and serve others and spread this Word of God to those in our lives today. Let us see opportunities for your power to be demonstrated and proven to us. Let us see our faith be proven and grown to even greater heights, as we step out into deeper waters. Let us be encouraged to step out into those waters, and know that we will not drown, for You are with us.
Be the Christ in YOU today, friend.
If you don’t yet have Christ in you, then I encourage you to pray that Christ will come into your life, spend some time reading the book of John in the New Testament of the Bible and just read through it. Don’t feel like you have to understand it right away. Read it all the way through, and see if there is not a voice, a message that you receive that you know is good, and real, and truth. You may not get it the first time through. But the voice is there, it is real.
If you have accepted Christ into your heart, get involved with other believers, and let God be a daily part of your life – not as empty religious practice, but as a walk with the Lord, a growing personal relationship with God, who surpasses our understanding, but whom we cannot deny, because He continues to prove himself faithful and real in our lives.
May your day be blessed. I love you, friend.
Be the Christ in you.
Harold J. Ballinger 