January 25

And 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 4:2-5.

Clearly God is showing that His power is available to Moses. What is remarkable, and so revealing about the nature of God, is that He can take a dead stick and transform it into a living creature. We remember the creation where God spoke all things into existence. Now again, we see that a piece of wood, with no flowing sap of life, can be changed by the spoken Word. It is not difficult to realize that we, too, are dead without the Word of God. We have no earthly life that we can call our own, and we have eternal life because of the grace of God.

Wherever Moses went, as he was before Pharaoh or before the Red Sea, the staff was there to reveal the presence of God. So it is in our life as well. Jesus, the Living Word, goes with us and shows the power of God in all that we do. Of course we need to allow Him to do this, and that happens when we trust Him to walk with us. There is no obstacle, no power, and no situation that He can not master.

Today, Lord, let me see new opportunities where You can create new life out of old. You have taken my deadness and transformed me by making me a new creation. That new life is longing to express itself—there are stubborn, worldly ambitions to overcome, ‘seas’ to cross, and deserts of dryness that need Your living water. You will accomplish all of Your desires today, and I will wonder at the power of Your word. Amen.
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