Staff of God

          Ken and I have been reading through the Bible and lately we've been in the book of Exodus... actually, last night it was the story of Moses parting the Red Sea.  You know it well.  The children of God leave Egypt and come up against the waves of the Red Sea with nowhere to turn.  Pharaoh and his army are in hot pursuit and all appears to be lost.  The people turn to Moses and he stands there wondering and praying and leaning on his staff... his staff, mind you.  It's his possession, his staff.  Something he's leaned on and used for support in unsteady times. 

            But then we read that God told Moses to raise the staff over the water - and when he did, the sea divided and opened up a path through which the Israelites could escape to safety.  The people were amazed - not to mention Moses!  And after that miracle, the Bible pinpoints something pretty special about that staff of Moses.  It says it no longer belonged to him.  From then on out, it was called the staff of God.  The ownership of that staff had changed hands and neither Moses nor anyone else would ever look at it in the same way.  It was now God's. 

            After Ken and I finished reading and we turned the lights out, I laid there in bed thinking because that was quite a lesson for me.  For in the same way when we give to God those things we call our own... when we yield the possessions we lean on to Him for His use, those things become the Lord's.  He then uses them for His purposes. 

            That's when in the dark I glanced over to the corner of our bedroom and saw my empty wheelchair setting there.  Years ago I may have looked at it as my wheelchair, but it's no longer meant for my use and purposes, because the ownership of that wheelchair has changed hands.  Some years back, I gave that wheelchair over to the Lord, I yielded it to Him... and, oh, what a miracle happened in my life.  It was a miracle of grace and acceptance, of contentment and the ability to embrace God's will.  It was a miracle of peace and even joy.  I've never been able to look at that wheelchair in the same way since - I may have leaned on it in the past, but now the wheelchair is His.  And believe me, I'd much rather God be the owner of that old wheelchair than me!

            What is true for that wheelchair I sit in is true for your walker or cane, or hearing aid, or set of crutches, or white cane, or knee brace, or ankle brace, or back support.  When you give to God those things you lean on and depend on, they become His possession through which He can do the most miraculous things in your life, like changing your heart, changing your attitude, changing your perspective, or outlook on life.  Is that a miracle or what!  So today, friend, give God whatever you're leaning on - let God take ownership of those things you depend on, those things you call your own.  Because when God takes charge, miracles can't help but happen. 

Used by permission of  JONI AND FRIENDS P.O. Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376