What Is In Our Hands?

Zookeepers who must handle snakes, tell us that an individual should never grab one by its tail because it can coil around in a split second and sink its fangs into a hand. The correct method is to control it by its head so it can’t bite.

In contrast, picking up a snake by its tail is exactly what God told Moses to do (Exodus 4:1-5). As one who must have encountered snakes in the Midian desert, Moses knew this was unwise.

We ask, “What was God trying to teach Moses?” God not only wanted him to realize His power, but to also be willing to be used as His messenger to Pharoah (Exodus 4:21-23). There was little difference between throwing the rod to the ground and taking the snake by its tail. Both were acts of obedience to the Lord. The lesson was that God had the ability to use whatever means He wanted in order to validate His message to the people through Moses.

Today, what is in our hands? In a sense, our spiritual lives are in our hands because we choose whether we’ll squander the hours, days, weeks, months, and years in our own pursuits or if we’ll live an obedient life that’s useful to Almighty God (Joshua 24:14-15; Joshua 24:31).

If we will obediently do what He asks (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:8-9; cf. James 1:21-25), the Lord will mightily accomplish His will in us and through us.

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets