Throwdown!

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.” (Exodus 4:1-3)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Reverend Dr. Carla Sunberg spoke from Exodus chapters 3 and 4. Though her message was one of encouragement to us, she also imparted this challenge: Throw down whatever it is that you’re holding in your hand.

Reverend Carla reminded us that Moses was given this directive by God. The shepherd’s staff in Moses’ hand was a symbol of his role, his expertise, and his comfort zone. When Moses obeyed the directive and threw the staff on the ground, God caused it to transform into a snake. Moses saw, firsthand, that God held the power to do what was impossible for man.

Later in the narrative, we find that a group of Egyptian magicians was able to perform the same miracle through the power of sorcery. But God, who had instructed Moses and Aaron to throw down Aaron’s staff in the presence of Pharaoh, caused a second miracle to occur: the staff thrown down by Aaron swallowed up every other staff that had been thrown down by the magicians  (see Exodus 7:8-12). The false was swallowed up by the true.

This word of God to us, “Throw it down,” is a word that we are called to obey wholeheartedly. When we let go of the skills and accomplishments we have carried by our own power, and when we walk away from our comfort zone, we make room for God to transform our work into something that can only be attributed to His miracle-working power. And, His miraculous power will overcome every false god and false sign manufactured by those who have devoted themselves to counterfeit works.

What’s that in your hand? Throw it down, and watch God do the miraculous.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.