What's in Your Hand?

Every morning at the PARC I get to lead a Bible Study. It is my most favorite thing. I ALWAYS learn something. To hear the scriptures from our member's perspectives has opened my eyes to revelations I have not seen before.

Right now we are studying Exodus, the story of Moses. I simply read the scripture and then ask the members what they heard or what stuck out to them. A few days ago we read the story about when the Lord was sending Moses to free the Israelites from slavery. To convince him to go, God asked Moses what was in his hand. He then told him to throw it down. Moses threw his staff down. It became a snake, Moses ran from it and then God told him to pick it up. As the members began to share, Keyon said something so profound that I cannot get it out of my head and off my heart.

First of all, I would like you to know a little bit about Keyon. He is kind and compassionate. We all love him so much. He struggles with gender identity and has huge issues with addiction to hard drugs. Because of this, there are often times it is hard to carry on a conversation with him. He doesn't make much sense and it is hard to figure out what he is really trying to say or if there is even a point. When he talks I try really hard to listen all the way through, to hear a little more deeply what he is saying. As we talked about this scripture Keyon began to talk about the staff. He said, "Isn't it normally used to herd cattle or sheep or something? I think God was showing him that now he would be using his staff for something else."

Whaaaaaat? I was taken aback by this statement. Of course he is right, but I had never thought of it in that way. It has impacted me profoundly. Moses' rod turned into a snake and he ran. God told him to pick it up! The very thing that scared Moses God told him to pick up. Moses obeyed Him and his staff became a vessel of miracles. What am I holding in my hand that God wants me to throw down? What scares me that God wants me to pick up? I want to be brave enough to obey. Whatever is in my hands I want to throw it down, pick it back up even if it scares me and let God use it as a vessel for the miracles He wants to do.

BUT, what I think I love the most is that God uses the members at the PARC to reveal Himself to me every day. I am so grateful. The most unlikely vessels, the ones we may have a tendency to overlook, are the very ones with the most to teach.