THE LIGHTNING ROD OF MOSES

The story of Moses teaches us that God never sends us into a battle without the appropriate weapon to win His victory.  Whether it is the gifts of the Spirit to help the community of believers, or the light that shines before others, or practical things like the seven loaves and fishes, or the net cast into the side of the boat, God is able to use whatever we already have at our disposal to proclaim and build His kingdom.

Three days ago, I was blessed to spend some time with my apos, Kaden and Audrine (children of Denise and Fritz).  I decided to share with them some inspiring lessons about simple people who changed the world, drawing from a book entitled “You Can Be a World Changer” by Honor Books.  The two characters that I chose for that day were Michelangelo Buonarroti and Moses.  For the story of Moses, I went to my closet and got a walking stick that I used for a climb to Mount Ulap, and used that as an object lesson to demonstrate how God used the staff of Moses to reveal His awesome powers.  Then, inspired by that story, I asked Kaden to pose with the “staff of Moses” and raise his arm with the walking stick the way Moses did. 

Looking at his picture made me reflect on that staff of Moses, and draw some lessons which I’d like to share with you.

THE LIGHTNING ROD

I imagine that God used the staff of Moses like one would use a lightning rod to draw the tremendous power of the Holy Spirit to come down and manifest itself through signs and wonders.  Or, to bring it to contemporary culture, imagine the hammer of Thor.

Upon God’s instructions, Moses raised his staff to split open the Red Sea (Ex 14:16-22).  In the desert, God instructed Moses to use his staff to draw water from the rock at Horeb (Ex 17:5-7).    And then, while Moses kept his arm raised during the entire duration of the battle, the Israelites successfully defended themselves against the attacking Amalekites at Rephidim (Exodus 17: 8-13).

LESSON 1: EACH OF US HAS A MISSION

I believe each of us has a mission that God is calling us to do.  There is a universal mission — one that is given to all who believe in Him: namely to proclaim the good news of His love to all, and to shine His light wherever we are.  There is also a specific mission that is unique to each of us – one that is specific to our circumstance, to our giftedness, and to whatever resources we may have at the moment.  This specific mission changes with the circumstance (part the Red Sea, draw water from the stone, encourage the warriors), but it is a calling from God nonetheless. 

Sure we may respond to this calling with doubt or reluctance or trepidation, or we can ignore it and pretend that it is not us being called. But if only we acknowledge and remember that our salvation has been purchased by the blood of Jesus, then God will fill our hearts with compassion so that we can respond to the mission orders, and act with thankfulness to shed His light in the darkness of the world for His greater honor and glory.

LESSON 2:  GOD HAS GIVEN US A LIGHTNING ROD

After Moses complained about his inadequacies for the mission, God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?”  (Ex 4:1-2)    In the same way, Jesus asked His disciples who felt inadequate to feed the multitude, “How many loaves do you have?”  (Mark 6:38) 

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the mission, and forget that God actually delights in manifesting Himself through man’s weaknesses.  “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” says Paul (2 Cor 12:9-10).   And so, let us not be too quick to judge ourselves and our resources when faced with a daunting mission.  We will be surprised, as Moses was, and the disciples of Jesus were, how God would work with whatever little talent, time and resources we have, in order to lift up the lowly and shame the mighty.

LESSON 3:  WE ALLOW GOD TO WORK THROUGH US

Now before we start believing that there is magic in that staff, let us be aware that it is neither the burning bush, nor the staff, nor the net cast into the sea, nor the loaves and fishes that magically and by themselves have the power to heal, to multiply or to move mountains.

After Moses replied that he only had his staff in his hand, God instructed him to throw it on the ground.   If we, therefore, surrender the things that we take for granted, the ordinary-ness of our lives, the little time we have, the meager treasure in our pocketbook, the ungifted tongue, or the frail body, in obedience to God’s call, we will see God’s power flow mightily through our obedience and submission. 

Obviously, it was not the staff of Moses that had the power, but rather it was his willingness and readiness to do whatever God commanded Him to do that attracted the power of the Spirit to come down like a lightning rod.  It is that faith which is the size of a mustard seed that moves mountains.  And the energy required is that little but genuine faith that will compel us to throw our staff to the ground, or to bring our basket to Jesus, or to sail back into the deep — then we will see just exactly how great is our God!

FINAL LESSON:  NOT TO US, BUT TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Sadly, this joy and delight to revel in the miracles of God, and to praise Him, is often accompanied by the temptation to see our role in this whole exercise, and to shine some of that light on ourselves.  Jesus says, “Your light must shine before others so that people will see the good that you do, and praise your father in heaven.”  (Matt 5:16) God forbid that we allow that people will see the good that we do, period.

How dangerously tempting to let our egos inflate even so slightly when we get commended for a good talk, when we get honored for our sacrificial service, when those whom we serve become endeared to us.  How sweet in our ears would be the words, “Well done.” Or the affirmation that says, “You have been called for such a time as this.” I know. I have feasted on this often. But I remind myself and all of us to be wary of misusing our precious and powerful giftedness for our glory, and only giving token credit, if at all, to God.  Though the temptation will be strong, we must resist this temptation and even run away from it.  Satan would delight in giving us the glory.

Let us avoid the tragic punishment that Moses called upon himself when, out of his frustration with the Israelites and his sense of entitlement to be trusted, he preempted God’s specific instructions and misused the staff and struck the rock at Meribah (Num 20:6-13).  Again, we must remember how confident Peter was in declaring that it would be the other disciples and never himself (nunca hamas) who would abandon Jesus in the final hour.  If we are not already guilty, we are all potentially guilty.

Yet if we remain focused on the singular desire to honor God in everything that we do, then whether our mission is fruitful, or seemingly in vain, or suffering setbacks, God will never abandon the faithful ones who serve Him.  God WILL be glorified.

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun … The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”
(Psalm 37: 5-6, 23-24)

Let us therefore submit everything that we have, everything that we are, and everything that we do, for the greater honor and glory of our awesome God! And if any of you feels the sense of God calling you to an uncomfortable, uncertain or even an impossible task, I pray that you will grow in trust and knowledge of the love and wisdom and might of our sovereign God.