You’ll be amazed at what God can do with it.
God had appeared to Moses as he was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro in the wilderness. He had spelled out the commission He had for Moses. God had chosen Moses to deliver His people from the slavery of Egypt and to lead them into the land promised to Abraham centuries before. It was an awesome task, and Moses was reluctant. Forty years before, he had impulsively come to the aid of a Hebrew slave who was being beaten by a taskmaster. Then he had fled for his life when he realized it was known that he had killed the Egyptian. Now the impulsive self-confidence of youth was gone.
“Then Moses answered and said, ‘But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’” (Ex. 4:1). It was a reasonable question. His earlier attempt to deliver one of them had been rejected, and he had been scorned. Moses did not relish another rejection by his brethren. How could he convince them that God had really called him?
The Lord asked him, “What is in your hand?” It was just a common shepherd’s staff. God commanded him to cast it to the ground. Moses complied and it became a writhing serpent as it landed. He instinctively ran from it, but God commanded him to pick it up by the tail. Instantly it became the familiar staff he used daily.
It was an amazing miracle, but God gave him two other signs to convince the people. He told Moses to put his hand into his bosom. When he pulled it out, it was leprous, a fearful sight. When he put it back into his bosom, it became clean and healthy once again. Then God gave him a third sign. If they were still unconvinced, he was to take water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground; it would turn to blood. These three miracles should be convincing to them.
But Moses doubted his ability to lead the people. Although he had the best education that Egypt could offer, forty years in the solitude of the desert had not sharpened his oratorical skills. God promised to be his mouth. However, Moses persisted in making excuses, so God said He would send Aaron to him to speak for him.
God calls each of us to serve Him. We are all gifted differently. “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us…” let us [use them] (Rom. 12:6).
What is in your hand? What gifts do you have? Use them! Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to think (Rom. 12:3), but do not denigrate the gifts God has given you. Be thankful for those gifts and use them wholeheartedly! Even if they seem common—as common as a shepherd’s staff in Moses’ day—use them! God wants no excuses.
One day we will all stand before the Lord, and He will ask us, “What did you do with the gifts and the talents that I entrusted to you?” May we hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”