SERVING SIX ONE

Did you ever think about Moses’ rod? You know the one he held up when the Red Sea parted.  The one that he struck the rock with and water came forth, the one he threw down and it became  a serpent. The one that he touched the Nile with causing it to turn to blood. That rod. Did you  ever really think about it. It was just a rod. Just an ordinary stick that Moses used to poke, prod,  direct, and protect a bunch of sheep. It was just an ordinary rod, and would have remained an  ordinary rod if he had not obeyed the voice of God and let it go.

God asked Moses “What is that in your hand?” (Ex.4:2) to which Moses replied “A rod.” Now of  course God knew what it was, he just wanted to make sure Moses knew. But what happened  next is what is so profound. God told Moses to throw the rod down. To let it go. To give it to  Him. When Moses did the rod became a serpent and then of course that rod accompanied him  as he led the children of Israel out of Egypt. A simple man, with a simple rod, doing miraculous things because of a willingness to let go and let God!

You know, there are things right now that you are holding that God wants to use. Little things that could be great when touched by God’s power. So, what do you have that the Almighty could use? Are you willing to let it go? Are you willing to trust Him with it?

Just as there are things you are holding that God can use if you give them to Him, there are also things you are holding onto that God wants you to let go of . Things that are keeping you from following after God. Things that are keeping you from hearing Him, trusting Him, and knowing His will for your life. Are you holding on to something that is affecting your relationship with God? Something that is keeping you from the blessings God has for your life? Is it a relationship, a hurt, a fear, a grudge? What is that you may be refusing to let go of because it is familiar to you, something that you are used to carrying around with you for so long that you have become attached to it?

God is saying “Let it Go”. Let go of the past so the past will let go of you. Then and only then will you be able to live and enjoy the fullness of what God has for your life.

So, what are you holding on to? Do you have talents, ideas, dreams, abilities, thoughts, or desires that God could be using for His glory? Or do you have bitterness, unforgiveness, secrets, broken dreams, or spiritual ties with people that you know needs to be severed? God says Let it Go! The choice is yours, and so are the repercussions.

Have you ever taken a picture and then it turned out blurry. Chances are you didn’t have a clear focus when you took the picture. In other words, the camera was focused on something other than what your intentions were. The results were a blurred picture.

Many times that is the problem we have in life as well. We have good intentions. We have the right idea. But somewhere along the lines, we lose our focus. Other things, that may be good things, grab our focus, distract us and we lose the actual focus of what we were supposed to be doing.

When this happens, the results are usually that the project or goal we were working on seems to lose it effectiveness and we even doubt if we were supposed to be doing it in the first place. We get discouraged, downhearted, and feel like quitting. Oftentimes, we do quit. We stop short and never finish the work we once thought we were called to do.

So many visions, dreams and desires given from God never materialize or come to fruition because we allow the enemy to distract us with other things. More times than not, it is good things that take our focus off of our calling. Getting too busy and caught up in other projects with church or other people’s visions is often the reason for not continuing with our own. Or, letting others put doubt in us because of their disbelief or jealousy can cause us to doubt and lose our focus as well.

When this happens, the fire and desire we once had for our vision dwindles. Sometimes it diminishes to the point we find ourselves questioning whether or not the vision was from God in the first place. Once the focus gets blurred, it is hard to see clearly what we are supposed to be doing.

Getting us to lose our focus is one of the most common yet powerful tools of the enemy. If the devil can get you to get caught up with the busy work of other things rather than the task or objective God has given you or purposed you for, then chances are that project will not be completed. If the project doesn’t get completed, many people may not be reached. So, the enemy wins.

Remember the story of Peter walking on the water? He started out his quest with excitement. He asked God to help him. He heard the voice of the Lord clearly say “Come.” He stepped out in faith to begin his journey and was making progress. He had his eyes focused on Jesus and was actually walking on the water! He was doing what others saw as impossible because he was focused!

But something happened on Peter’s journey. Perhaps, it was because he started listening to those to afraid to get out of the boat as they told him he was crazy. Maybe he listened to their jealous jeering saying that he was going to sink. Maybe then, he heard the wind, the splashing of the waves and waves of doubt washed over him. Whatever he heard or thought made him take his eyes off of Jesus. When that happened, when he lost his focus, he went down. He sank beneath his own doubts, beneath his own discouragement, beneath his own fears.

The good news is, Peter didn’t drown beneath those waves of doubt, discouragement and fear. He remembered to call on the name of the One who saves. When he did, Jesus picked him up, and walked back with him, guiding him, holding him and talking to him all along the way. You see, although Peter lost his focus, he got it back and he continued his feat. He didn’t swim back to the boat; he walked back to the boat! And in so doing, he was a witness to all those in the boat who thought it couldn’t be done!

It is important to know that although we may lose our focus, we can always call on the One who is more than willing to help us see again. He will pick us up, un-cloud our vision and help us clearly see where we are supposed to go and what we are supposed to be doing. Not only that, but He’ll go with us all the way!

So it’s time to get up, get out of the boat and get on with our journey of faith. If we lose our sight and start to sink we need to cry out to the One who told us to “Come”. He will help us get our focus straight and with Him we shall overcome!