Most of us will empathise with Moses’ concern (expressed in 4:1): “What if they don’t believe me?” It is what often keeps us from talking about God with other people. We think: What if we share things about God and they think we are strange and even get angry at us? No one wants to put people offside, particularly friends and family. And you shouldn’t want to put people offside even though that is sometimes the inevitable cost of being open about your faith. So, what is the answer? Moses wants some way of demonstrating the truth of his message and his desire is legitimate because God gives him a way to do this. Likewise, it is vital for us all, not to just speak the truth, but, like Moses, to demonstrate it through our lives. So how do you demonstrate the truth? God says to Moses, “What is in your hand?” That’s the start. You look at what God has put in your hand. In other words, what opportunity do you have to demonstrate truth? You can do it where you are and with what you have. You don’t need to leave your job and take up vocational ministry. The best way to demonstrate truth is to live an extraordinary life in an ordinary life context. You may not break any natural laws as Moses did by turning a staff into a snake, but you can break some of the insidious social norms that keep people bound in futile lifestyles. Demonstrate your message by being someone who stands out with your counter-cultural, God-centred desires and lifestyle.
Ask God to show you what is in your hand.
Read Exodus 4:1-9
