Exodus 4:1-9

4 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”— so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

Moses again shows his fear at the mission the Lord has for him—he feels inadequate to the task ahead.

Note, however, that the staff the Lord turns into a serpent is already in Moses’s hand. That is, Moses already has what he needs to do what the Lord is asking him to do!

The disciples could only come up with five loaves and two fish, but they were enough when put into the hands of Jesus. In fact, they made a feast.

If you have faith in Jesus, then you have what you need today. It might not feel like it, but nevertheless it’s true. Act accordingly.

P.S. Each of these miracles is showing the Lord’s power over the gods—better to say “demons”—of Egypt. Over the serpent god, the Lord has power; over the medical and healing magic of Egypt, the Lord has power; over the fertility god of the Nile, the Lord has power.

P.S. As I’ve mentioned before many times, I read one psalm a day, every day. Well, I’m about to start over again this Sunday. (There are 150 psalms; I’m on Psalm 149 today and will finish with Psalm 150 tomorrow, Saturday.) Who’s with me?