My youngest son collects sticks. Not, little bitty twigs, but big
sticks. Everywhere I look, there seems to be a bundle of Josiah's
sticks. While I often see nothing more than a bundle of sticks that I
want to get out of my way, Josiah sees a spear, or a bow and arrow, or a
machine gun, or some other kind of weapon. He never wants to throw any
of them away because each and every one of them has the potential to be
used for something. So, I'm left to navigate around his collection of
sticks.
Now, perhaps you have never really thought about sticks very much. But a stick is nothing more than a branch that has broken off of a tree. It is dead. It is no longer connected to its source of life, so it is dead. While it may still be green for a short period of time, it will not remain that way for long. it has no life flowing through it anymore. It cannot grow or produce more branches. It is an inanimate object.
I say all of that because I want you to get a sense of the lowly, worthless state of a stick.There
isn't much you can use them for. Perhaps, if it is large enough, one
could use it as a walking stick or it could be fashioned into some type
of primitive tool. Most of us would simply burn them or put them out
for the trash collectors to pick up. Unless you are like my son, these common
everyday sticks that you find laying around in your yard are pretty much
worthless.
As lowly and worthless as a stick may be, there is an account in Scripture where God uses a stick to do mighty things. Moses is in the desert wilderness when He has an encounter with God. He is tending sheep when he sees a burning bush. This, of course, gets his attention and he goes to take a closer look. It is here that Moses encounters God. In this encounter, God shares with Moses his desire to send him to Egypt to bring God's people out of slavery. Moses is a bit hesitant, feeling completely incapable of the job God is asking him to do. Following is a short bit of the conversation between the two ...
"Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’”So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” (Exodus 4:1-2 NKJV)
Moses sees a bit of a dilemma. He is being asked by God to go to probably the most powerful man in the world at that time and tell him to "Let God's people go!" Not only does he need Pharaoh to believe him, he needs God's people to believe him. Put yourself in Moses' shoes for a second. He is in the wilderness because he is a fugitive on the run. Forty years prior, he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. As a result, Moses runs for his life fearing the wrath of Pharaoh. Now, God wants this fugitive to return to Egypt, a powerful nation, and demand that Pharaoh release all the Hebrew slaves. No wonder Moses is a little hesitant! Moses poses a question to God that I think every one of us would ask - "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice?"
I don't know about you, but I am confident that I would want all the details laid out for me. I would be asking God the same thing. I would be asking God, "Ummm ... so, do we have a plan just in case they laugh and mock at me when I try to convince them that I saw a burning bush in the desert and God spoke to me out of the burning bush?" "We've got a plan when I show up to confront the Egyptian Empire without an army, right?"
God reveals to Moses part of his plan. "What is that in your hand?" Moses says, "A rod." Moses has a stick! Not machine guns, not chariots, not armored tanks, not a massive army. Moses has a stick! He's got a simple tool used in taking care of sheep. It's not a magic stick. It is a dead piece of a tree. There is absolutely nothing special about the stick. It is an ordinary stick. Moses is going to confront the leader of a powerful nation armed with a stick. Pharaoh has a massive army and Moses has a stick.
If you'll read the entire account in Exodus, you'll discover that this stick would be used to do miraculous things. It turned into a serpent and ate Pharaoh's serpents. It was used to strike the river and turn the water into blood. God used it to bring the plague of frogs, and hail, and other plagues on Egypt. When Moses and the children of Israel were standing at the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army was coming to kill them, God instructed Moses to stretch it over the Red Sea. That resulted in the Red Sea splitting, providing God's people with a way of escape while providing the Egyptian soldiers with a watery grave.
God used a simple, ordinary stick. Let me be clear. There was nothing extraordinary about the stick. God does not need something extraordinary, for He is the One who is extraordinary. The miracle worker wasn't a magic wand. The Miracle Worker was an all powerful God. God was not impressed, nor did He shrink in fear when it came to this mighty Pharaoh and his military might. God did not need an army to deliver His people. He used an insecure fugitive with a speech problem, who came armed with only a stick. God is in the habit of taking the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He takes the weak things of the world to display His strength.
When you look in the mirror, if what you see staring back at you is just an ordinary man or woman, then you are perfect for the Master's use! God's not searching high and low for those who believe they are all that. He is looking for those who are humble before Him and available for His use. He is looking for those who will simply say, "I may not be much, but here I am, send me." It is in willing vessels such as these that God will work mightily. It is through the ordinary that God does the extraordinary.
At some point today, I will see a bundle of my son Josiah's sticks. And while at first glance, they seem only good for the trash pile, I can't help but think that at one time in history, God used an ordinary stick much like one of Josiah's to bring an entire nation of people to freedom. I'm convinced if God can use a lousy, worthless stick to accomplish something like that, then certainly He can use me. To all the ordinary people out there - if God can empower a dead, dry, lifeless, stick what extraordinary things can he do through you?
For more on how God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary, watch "Out of the Ordinary - Part One" below:
You can also join us live on Facebook, this Sunday at 10:30am.
If you live in or near Montgomery, TX, we would love to have you join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30. Westlake Fellowship is located at 19786 Suite 120, Hwy 105 in Montgomery. (beside Magnolia Diner)
www.westlakefellowship.org
Now, perhaps you have never really thought about sticks very much. But a stick is nothing more than a branch that has broken off of a tree. It is dead. It is no longer connected to its source of life, so it is dead. While it may still be green for a short period of time, it will not remain that way for long. it has no life flowing through it anymore. It cannot grow or produce more branches. It is an inanimate object.
I say all of that because I want you to get a sense of the lowly, worthless state of a stick.
As lowly and worthless as a stick may be, there is an account in Scripture where God uses a stick to do mighty things. Moses is in the desert wilderness when He has an encounter with God. He is tending sheep when he sees a burning bush. This, of course, gets his attention and he goes to take a closer look. It is here that Moses encounters God. In this encounter, God shares with Moses his desire to send him to Egypt to bring God's people out of slavery. Moses is a bit hesitant, feeling completely incapable of the job God is asking him to do. Following is a short bit of the conversation between the two ...
"Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’”So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” (Exodus 4:1-2 NKJV)
Moses sees a bit of a dilemma. He is being asked by God to go to probably the most powerful man in the world at that time and tell him to "Let God's people go!" Not only does he need Pharaoh to believe him, he needs God's people to believe him. Put yourself in Moses' shoes for a second. He is in the wilderness because he is a fugitive on the run. Forty years prior, he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. As a result, Moses runs for his life fearing the wrath of Pharaoh. Now, God wants this fugitive to return to Egypt, a powerful nation, and demand that Pharaoh release all the Hebrew slaves. No wonder Moses is a little hesitant! Moses poses a question to God that I think every one of us would ask - "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice?"
I don't know about you, but I am confident that I would want all the details laid out for me. I would be asking God the same thing. I would be asking God, "Ummm ... so, do we have a plan just in case they laugh and mock at me when I try to convince them that I saw a burning bush in the desert and God spoke to me out of the burning bush?" "We've got a plan when I show up to confront the Egyptian Empire without an army, right?"
God reveals to Moses part of his plan. "What is that in your hand?" Moses says, "A rod." Moses has a stick! Not machine guns, not chariots, not armored tanks, not a massive army. Moses has a stick! He's got a simple tool used in taking care of sheep. It's not a magic stick. It is a dead piece of a tree. There is absolutely nothing special about the stick. It is an ordinary stick. Moses is going to confront the leader of a powerful nation armed with a stick. Pharaoh has a massive army and Moses has a stick.
If you'll read the entire account in Exodus, you'll discover that this stick would be used to do miraculous things. It turned into a serpent and ate Pharaoh's serpents. It was used to strike the river and turn the water into blood. God used it to bring the plague of frogs, and hail, and other plagues on Egypt. When Moses and the children of Israel were standing at the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army was coming to kill them, God instructed Moses to stretch it over the Red Sea. That resulted in the Red Sea splitting, providing God's people with a way of escape while providing the Egyptian soldiers with a watery grave.
God used a simple, ordinary stick. Let me be clear. There was nothing extraordinary about the stick. God does not need something extraordinary, for He is the One who is extraordinary. The miracle worker wasn't a magic wand. The Miracle Worker was an all powerful God. God was not impressed, nor did He shrink in fear when it came to this mighty Pharaoh and his military might. God did not need an army to deliver His people. He used an insecure fugitive with a speech problem, who came armed with only a stick. God is in the habit of taking the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He takes the weak things of the world to display His strength.
When you look in the mirror, if what you see staring back at you is just an ordinary man or woman, then you are perfect for the Master's use! God's not searching high and low for those who believe they are all that. He is looking for those who are humble before Him and available for His use. He is looking for those who will simply say, "I may not be much, but here I am, send me." It is in willing vessels such as these that God will work mightily. It is through the ordinary that God does the extraordinary.
At some point today, I will see a bundle of my son Josiah's sticks. And while at first glance, they seem only good for the trash pile, I can't help but think that at one time in history, God used an ordinary stick much like one of Josiah's to bring an entire nation of people to freedom. I'm convinced if God can use a lousy, worthless stick to accomplish something like that, then certainly He can use me. To all the ordinary people out there - if God can empower a dead, dry, lifeless, stick what extraordinary things can he do through you?
For more on how God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary, watch "Out of the Ordinary - Part One" below:
You can also join us live on Facebook, this Sunday at 10:30am.
If you live in or near Montgomery, TX, we would love to have you join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30. Westlake Fellowship is located at 19786 Suite 120, Hwy 105 in Montgomery. (beside Magnolia Diner)
www.westlakefellowship.org
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