Equipped for Epic

"Then Moses said, 'What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, "The Lord has not appeared to you."' The Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' And he said, 'A staff.' Then He said, 'Throw it on the ground.' So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail' —so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 'that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.'" -Exodus 4.1-5

Moses still isn't sure about all of this, and so he keeps bring up "what ifs" to God. Now he asks straight up, "What if they don't believe me or even listen to me?" God asks what he has with him, and he replies that he has his staff. God takes the ordinary that he possesses and turns it into something extraordinary. He uses what Moses has and then shows him how to use it for the task God has called him to.

God doesn't call Moses and send him to figure it out, God equips him for the epic story. And it isn't just with one thing, God gives Moses several. First it's the staff, then He allows him to make his hand leprous and heal it. And if neither of these two work, God gives him turning some water of the Nile into blood on dry ground. God doesn't send him empty handed, nor does He reveal all of the powerful things He will do.

He doesn't tell Moses that the magicians of Egypt will turn their staffs into snakes, or that Moses' snake will consume them. He doesn't tell him that the entire Nile will be turned to blood, or about any of the other plagues that will be sent on Egypt. I think knowing that would have been a little overwhelming, and knowing all of that wouldn't have required as much faith and trust. Just as God doesn't reveal everything about the journey to us at the beginning, He doesn't reveal all that we are equipped for at the beginning either. We journey, we trust, and God does amazing things.

Men, don't worry when God calls you to something epic, He will equip you for it. God created you to be part of His story, and He wants you to do well in your role for His Kingdom. He isn't going to leave you unprepared. He's given you gifts and abilities, and He'll show you how to use them. Don't shy away from the challenge because you feel unprepared, god will equip you for the epic.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor