No matter who we are, we want to feel like our
life matters and has purpose – but when we live an ordinary mundane life, it’s
sometimes hard to imagine that it does.
There is one particular story in the Bible that
reminds me that even in my everyday life, God can use ordinary me in amazing
ways. This is in the story of Moses with his staff (read Exodus 3 & 4). God has amazing plans and purposes and he
loves to partner with ordinary people to help carry these out. Ordinary, everyday people like you, me, and
Moses. Moses had made some big mistakes
in his life (including murdering a guy), yet God still chose to involve Moses
in his plans. Moses made excuses of
course (as we usually do), but finally God asked him this interesting question
in Exodus 4:2, “What is that in your hand?.” God used the ordinary shepherd’s tool,
a staff, to do something amazing and change lives as well as the course of
history.
You may be wanting to live an exciting life for
God, but then you look around at your ordinary life… the boring 9-5pm job (or
the fact you are currently unemployed), your everyday chores at home, the small
skill set of things you can do while totally aware of the giant skillset of
things you can’t. You may be busy
looking at your struggles and weaknesses and flaws and past full of mistakes
and stuff ups… and yet maybe God is just looking at you saying, “what is
in your hand?”.
What if the thing God has called you to do right
now in this season of your life involves the thing that is in your hand?
Moses had been carrying around that ordinary piece of wood for many
years, and nothing dramatic had happened as a result. But after Moses
surrendered the wooden rod to the Lord, it amazingly became “the rod of God” instead
of merely the rod of Moses. No longer a mere piece of wood, this rod enabled
Moses to part the Red Sea, bring water out of a rock, and defeat enemy armies. What is in YOUR hand, my friend? Money? Time?
Possessions? Influence? Some kind of special God-given aptitude? If you’re honest, the thing in your hand
probably seems totally inadequate to meet the needs around you. However, you’ll
be amazed by what can happen when you surrender it to the Lord. – Inspiration Ministries
If you’re struggling to know what God wants you
to do, or how he can use you for his plans, start by looking at what’s in your
hand. That ordinary thing might be the
answer… don’t despise it. Like Moses’ staff, it may be the tool of your daily
trade or job… a hammer, computer, whiteboard marker, pair of scissors, a mop or
broom, a clipboard, a guitar, a sewing machine, a spade, all ordinary things. Maybe it’s a skill you possess, or an
opportunity that’s come your way, or the people around you that you influence on
a day to day basis. Maybe it is
something simple like a word of encouragement spoken, a hug, your story of hope,
a bed for the night, a hot meal for a tired soul, a listening ear, a pen put to
paper.
“What good is that?”, you may think to
yourself. But look at what God did with
an ordinary staff – something absolutely amazing. I’m sure if God can use an ordinary piece of
wood to do amazing things, he can use you and me.
