What's In Your Hand?

Moses is tending sheep on Mount Horab and comes across a burning bush.  It captivates him as the shrub is not consumed by fire. God calls to Moses and asks him to approach the Pharaoh to obtain the release of the Israelites from Egyptian captivity.

God assures Moses that He will be with him.  But Moses begins a session of arguments

• Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh to release the Israelites?
• What if the people want to know Your name?
• What if the Israelites don't believe me?
• I am not a good speaker.
• And finally, not me God.  You've got the wrong guy.

Well, of course, God patiently (for a while, anyway) provides encouragement and answers to each of the concerns identified by Moses. At one point,

...the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?" "A staff,” he replied. Exodus 4:2

God then shows Moses how to use the staff to convince people to listen to him.



The Israelites have been in captivity for perhaps hundreds of years and I'm sure that the save-us prayer was sent to the heavens millions upon millions of times. And yet, no answer.  Until the burning bush.

We too spend a lot of time in prayer.  Sometimes, it's intercessory in nature - for others.  Most of the time, I am willing to bet, it's centered around us and our needs.

We cry out, "Save us."  We plead with God to remove this cup.  We ask fervently that someone be healed, that we be made whole and even for world peace.  And we wait.

There seems to be no answer.  We grow frustrated.  We feel alone, abandoned.  Maybe we even begin to launch vitriol to the skies.  We question His love.  We may even question His existence.

I'm fairly confident that none of us have experienced a flame-retardant bush in recent days. But I'm seriously wondering if we've missed opportunities to see answers to our prayers.

The point where God asks, "What's in your hand"? is a bit daunting.  Maybe I mean haunting.  That's what it does to me all the time.  I sometimes wish I'd never heard those words.

It means that I'm a lot like Moses. It means that when I'm throwing excuse after excuse to dissuade I AM to change His mind about using me, I'm also throwing away the opportunity to experience answered prayer.

How often might I say some of the very things in opposition to what God is asking from ME to answer MY prayers?  Apparently, I'm looking for the short-cut.  I'm looking for extrication and emancipation without endeavor.

And worse, I may be denying the answers to the prayers of others!  Yes, Moses wanted to see the end of captivity.  He wanted to be saved and I'm sure he prayed.  But God asked him not to simply save himself, but all Israelites.  He wanted to use Moses to answer the prayers of others.  Gulp.

Here's another way to look at this.  We have each been given gifts.  These gifts are to be shared with the world.  They are IN our hands!  You can make your own list, but they are things like listening, patience, compassion, empathy, leadership and financial resources.

Television has resurrected the weekly series called MacGyver in recent years. The basic tenant of the show mandates serious trouble for MacGyver who then must save himself and those around him.  What was in his hand?  He carried only a Swiss Army Knife and Duct Tape but used chemistry, physics and personal experience to extricate all from disaster.

What is in MY hand?

What gifts have I been given that might help answer prayer - my own and the prayers of others?

How often do I say, "I'm not a good speaker" knowing that if I am to be used by God, I need not worry?

Is it such a long way from acting like Moses to being a "Spiritual MacGyver"?