Lift Up the Rod

Like Moses, you’ve been equipped with a rod.  Take it, raise it up, speak the Word, use it well.

Text for Today – Exodus 4:2 – And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

Oh, what an awesome tool God had provided Moses; a rod!  Cast to the ground, it became a serpent, not only in the wilderness, but in the presence of Pharaoh where it devoured the rods of Pharaoh’s magicians.  Lifted up at God’s command, the rod parted the Red Sea so Israel could cross over on dry ground to the other side.  Used to strike the rock, it brought forth and abundance of water sufficient for two to three million Israelites for drinking, cooling, washing, bathing, feeding livestock, and worship.  Set before the Lord, it budded, showing its power, authority, and life producing ability.  And finally, placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, it symbolized the power of God resident and alive in every believer.  What a wonderful tool, this rod!

So, my dear friend, lift up the rod. What rod?  The rod of covenant; eternal, unchanging, unalterable covenant.  The rod of the comforting Word of God.  It still works today.  Throw down a challenge against the Word of God and watch as demons are consumed by its fire.  Raise the rod of God’s Word against insurmountable obstacles and watch the power of God move them out of the way.  Lift the rod to the Rock of your salvation, not by striking it, but rather by speaking to it, and receive the refreshing and life of God’s all-sufficiency for your every need, and the needs of many others.  Keep that rod, the covenant Word, before the Lord and watch it flower as it produces life, power, and blessing in your personal life and the lives of those to whom you minister.  Place that rod, the immutable, unchanging Word of God in your own spirit (the current Ark of the Covenant), and allow it to produce all the power of God you will need in your daily walk, both personally, and in your family, work, ministry, and every arena of influence in which you serve.

Dear fellow believer, it’s time for you to step out and go the second mile.  When God saved you, He did more than give you eternal life.  Yes, you can and should enjoy that wonderful gift He has given you, but at the same time, it is not to be hidden and used only for personal reasons.  It is a gift of liberation for many others.  So, lift up your rod.  Liberate, set free, heal, deliver, and make whole.  Bring rivers of refreshing into parched lives.  Issue forth out of your belly, by the speaking forth of God’s Word (the rod) the power and fruitfulness that will bring life, healing, and wholeness into the lives of desperate people in a desert at a point of decision.

Manna for Today – Proverbs 4:20-22; Psalm 138:2; Psalm 119:89; Psalm 23