Originally published Sunday, 24 November 2013.
Eternal One: Reach out and grab it by the tail.
Despite his natural fears, Moses reached out and grabbed the snake; and as he held it, it changed back into a shepherd’s staff. Exodus 4:4 (VOICE)
Sometimes I think I hear God speaking.
Not an audible voice, like the Old Testament sometimes writes about, just a small inner prompt like, “Go speak to that girl” or “Buy that person diapers” or “Give some money to that project.”
Often I’ll take the risk and do it.
Other times I’ll shake off the thought as too small to matter, or scary, or just plain stupid.
Then there are the times when I ignore it, especially if the person looks like someone who got themselves into the situation because of bad choices.
Fortunately, I’ve been discovering that I’m quick to judge of people but not so good at determining what God wants.
I have been reading through the bible and highlighting the times when people heard God speak.
My highlights show that God often asks people to do things that look silly, or make them look stupid or force them to love people they would otherwise avoid.
One of my favourite passages that I’ve highlighted where God speaks is in Exodus 4.
God speaks to Moses, a man who God will later use to help free the Israelites from the Egyptians, and tells him to pick up a snake by the tail.
And Moses does it.
I love that Moses was terrified but he still had the guts to pick that snake up by its tail.
God asked Moses to do something small, something that sounds scary and stupid, and he does it. (tweet this)
The bible goes onto say that when Moses did the small, scary, stupid thing, the snake changed back into a shepherds’ staff in his hands.
A miracle that he would have missed if he hadn’t done what God asked.
I wonder how many times I’ve missed out on witnessing a miracle because a God prompt sounded like a small thing, or a stupid idea, or made me feel scared.
Ponder: Do you ever think God is prompting you to do something? Has reading Moses’ story challenged you to do react to those prompts differently?
Prayer: God, give me the courage to act when you prompt me. Amen.
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