WATCHWORD:
1 But Moses said, “They won’t believe me! They won’t do what I tell them to. They’ll say, ‘Jehovah never appeared to you!’” 2 “What do you have there in your hand?” the Lord asked him. And he replied, “A shepherd’s rod.” 3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So he threw it down—and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it! 4 Then the Lord told him, “Grab it by the tail!” He did, and it became a rod in his hand again! 5 “Do that and they will believe you!” the Lord told him. “Then they will realize that Jehovah, the God of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has really appeared to you. … 13 But Moses said, “Lord, please! Send someone else.” Exodus 4:1-5, 13
Meditation:
What’s in Your Hand?
I would not want to be in Moses’s sandals, knowing what I know and what he will be going through in the next 40 years. You can hear the doubt in his voice and if you read further in Exodus 4, it becomes clear this is a task that God has assigned to him despite his fear and resistance. These are difficult people that he is leading, full of resentment and demanding. No wonder he pleaded, Lord, please! Send someone else.
So unlike us? Really? How often do we use this excuse to not get involved, to not reach out to others, to keep quiet about our faith? In other words, avoiding what Jesus would have us do. What would people think? There are others who are better qualified. If I wait, someone else will do the work. I don’t agree with my friends, so I’ll just zip it up. How many excuses do we have in our bag of tricks?
Has God ever said to you, symbolically, “What is that in your hand? Before you answer, think about it. Think about what you consider your talents, your abilities, and all the graces that surround your life, each a gift from God. Those graces and gifts are right there, in “your hand.” Did God prepare you for such a time as this, such a situation as this, such a hurting person as that one, such a need there before you?
Our comfort zone, our schedule, our small aches and pains are often a barrier to our response. That little voice within tells you to go and do likewise, and we respond, do I have to? Our resistance is high, the recliner is so comfortable. But God doesn’t make mistakes and when we use human frailty as an argument against the calling of God, how silly is that? Like it or not, we have been prepared for what he places before us. Do you want to tell God, “No, I do not want to do that?” Believe me, the “send someone else” ploy, won’t work, I’ve tried it. He has called you and me. He has called our name, and that is a good thing.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send…who will go for us? ‘ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me! (Isaiah 6:8-13). Is that your/my voice, I hear?
Notice:
It’s Wednesday, but Saturday is coming and there will be a Watchword. Watch for it!
A Daily Prayer:
Here I am, Lord. Send me. Amen.
