What is in Your Hand?

The question “What is in your hand?” may be one of the most important questions we answer. Daily we are challenged to be our best, give our all and make the world a better place. But, what happens we when fall short?God came to Moses in the middle of the desert and asks of him something big.

Actually, it was huge.

He told him to leave his home and face almost certain death by going to the most powerful ruler in the land, asking him to free an entire nation of slaves.

Tall order.

Moses stuttered and stammered a million excuses why he was not the best man for the job, but God was not listening.

Instead, he told him to look at what he already had.

“What is in your hand?”

I can almost see Moses looking around with confusion clouding his eyes as he tried his best to make sense of this crazy thing God was calling him to do.

Seriously God…your man is in the middle of nowhere with a stick in his hand.

All he had was a simple, rough-hewn shepherd’s stick gripped tightly in his fist as he stood in the middle of one of the most desolate places on earth.

We see a stick, but God sees so much more.

How often do we feel the same way? I do. Many days I look at what is in my hands and they feel empty. 

The story goes on with God telling Moses to throw down the stick he held in his hand. When he did, it became alive and turned into a snake. When Moses obeyed God, something which was dead and dry came alive. God used an obedient Moses to free an enslaved nation, forever changing their lives and for generations to come.

Like Moses, we see what we hold as simple and ordinary, but God sees it as incredible when it is released from our hands and laid at his feet. When Moses picked up the snake it became a dry stick again, useful for the life he had lived for the past 40 years, but not for the new call God was placing on his life that day as he stood in the desert.

He stepped out into the unknown. He was terrified, but he began to move.

Fear of change often prevents us from stepping into the big, bold life we were created for.  Moses tried every excuse he could to keep from obeying God;  not good enough, smart enough, can’t speak well, they won’t listen to me and on he went until God said in a way which not even Moses could miss, “Lay it down.”

I am ready to lay down what I hold in my hands, and step back to see what God has in store. I am in a place of wonder as I consider what God can do with what is in my hands. You too? 

You are invited to join me in this weeks challenge:

• Carve out at least an hour away from your “normal” life, and journal, listen, pray, type whatever works for you but please just do it. No excuses here.
• Ask God to show you how He sees what is in your hands.
• Spend time considering how you see your own gifts, talents, abilities and passions.
• Reach beyond your comfort zone and step out into a new place or pick up a dream you have laid aside.
• Make a commitment for the next seven days to spend at least 15-30 minutes daily on “what is in your hand.”
• Consider enlisting the help of a friend to keep you accountable
• Share in the comments what God is up to in your life this week. I would love to be your cheerleader and prayer partner!

Blessings to you my brave friend!