Walking With Christ

Exodus 4:2  The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”  He said, “A staff.”(ESV)

Yesterday we talked about the knife that never cuts.

A tool can remain sharp, protected, and preserved for decades while never fulfilling the purpose for which it was made.

Many of us do the same thing with the things God has entrusted to us.

The obvious question is:  What exactly has God entrusted to me?

The answer is usually much closer than we think.

When God called Moses to confront Pharaoh, Moses immediately began listing reasons why he was the wrong man for the job.

He wasn’t eloquent.  He wasn’t confident.  He wasn’t qualified.  He wasn’t ready.

Most of us know exactly how that feels.  We can produce an endless list of reasons why we aren’t the right person.

Why we need more knowledge.  Why we need more resources.  Why we need more time.  Why we need more certainty.

Yet God’s first question was remarkably simple:  “What is that in your hand?”

A staff.

Nothing more.  Nothing special.  A stick carried by a shepherd.

God began with what Moses already had.

The Myth of Someday

Many Christians live in the land of someday.

Someday I will serve.  Someday I will teach.  Someday I will share my faith.  Someday I will give.  Someday I will start.  Someday I will obey.

Someday becomes a comfortable hiding place.

The problem is that God rarely works through someday.  He works through today.

The future assignment often begins with present obedience.

Moses had a staff before he had miracles.  David had a sling before he had a kingdom.  Peter had a boat before he became an apostle.  The boy had loaves and fish before thousands were fed.

God consistently begins with ordinary things surrendered to extraordinary purposes.

Inventory

Take inventory for a moment.

Not of what you wish you had.  Not of what someone else possesses.  Not of the opportunities you missed.

What’s currently in your hand?

Knowledge?  Experience?  A skill?  A trade?  Resources?  Influence?  A testimony?  A relationship?

A burden God has repeatedly placed on your heart?

Most of us spend more time studying what’s missing than examining what’s already been entrusted.

Yet stewardship begins with inventory.  You can’t faithfully manage what you refuse to acknowledge.

The Hidden Danger

There’s another trap.

Some people know exactly what God’s placed in their hands.

They simply underestimate it.

Moses saw a staff.  God saw a tool.

David saw a sling.  God saw a deliverer.

The disciples saw five loaves and two fish.  Jesus saw enough.

We often dismiss the very things God intends to use because they appear too ordinary.

The enemy doesn’t always need to convince us that we have nothing.  Sometimes he only needs to convince us that what we have is insignificant.

The Day of Accounting

This is where yesterday’s message returns.

The servant in the parable wasn’t asked what he wished he had been given.  He was asked what he’d done with what he received.

The question was never:  “Why didn’t you have ten talents?”

The question was:  “What did you do with the one?”

That should sober every believer.

One day we won’t answer for gifts we never received.  We will answer for the things God actually entrusted to us.

Not someone else’s assignment.  Not someone else’s resources.  Not someone else’s opportunities.

Ours.

The Question

Many Christians spend years asking God for more.  There’s nothing wrong with that.

But perhaps before asking for more, we should answer the question He’s already asked.

What is in your hand?

Not what do you wish was in your hand.  Not what used to be in your hand.  Not what will be in your hand someday.

What is in your hand today?

Because God has a long history of using ordinary things surrendered to Him.  And the first step toward faithful stewardship is recognizing what’s already been entrusted to you.