“Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. The subject pertained to “Grief and Losses.” Since I’m involved with a grief group, I thought it would be beneficial to go and sit under a speaker who had recently lost his wife. He talked about “Hope” and how our losses shouldn’t define who we are, but through them, spread love to others with the Hope of Jesus. The message Jesus offers is the only hope that can truly change a life and fill the hole in the human heart. But, if the message their eternity depends on has a chance of breaking through, it will probably come from a messenger they trust. Someone who has been through what they are experiencing. The Samaritan woman reached other Samaritans!
So God has a question for us “hope-carriers.” It’s the same question God asked Moses when He appeared to him at the burning bush in Exodus 4:1-3, 20. “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw the rod on the ground and it became a snake and Moses ran from it. Then the Lord said, “Reach out and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff.” At the end of the chapter, the Rod of Moses became the Rod of God! What do you have in your hand the Lord can use? God can take it and super-naturalize it! We all have gifts and talents we can use for God’s glory. Are you an artist? Are you a medically trained person? Are you a teacher? A beautician? A businessman? Are you a pastor? A seamstress? A doctor? Lawyer? Widow? What is in your hand? God can take whatever you have, multiply it and use it to bring hope to a hurting world!
Moses was a man who God used in a mighty way. He started in life with all the advantages the court of Pharaoh could offer, made some bad choices, but at the age of 80 years, God turned his life around and used him. After the Lord took him home, it was said of him, “No prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt….”Deut. 34:10. And Moses had asked, “Please God, send someone else!” Moses knew, “The eternal God was his refuge and underneath were the everlasting arms!” Deuteronomy 33:27.
Contrast Moses with Solomon. Solomon is considered the wisest man who ever lived. He started out life with so much promise. The Lord appeared to him in a dream and promised him a wise and discerning heart, riches and honor, so that in his lifetime, there would be no equal among kings. Solomon promised to keep the Lord’s commands, decrees and regulations, and obey them. His prayer of dedication for the Temple is amazing! He said, “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” 1 Kings 8:27. But, Solomon made some poor choices. God told him not to multiply horses, wives or gold. He disobeyed and did all three! He did not serve God with his whole heart! If he lived today, he would be a Sunday-only Christian. He offered the right sacrifices, paid his tithe, taught others, but at home, he pushed faith aside. He cheated his friend King Hiram, amassed chariots, horses and gold, enslaved the Canaanites and married many strange women who turned his heart away from the living God. At the end of his life, he said, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…..remember Him—before the silver cord is severed…and the dust returns to the ground it came from and the spirit returns to God who gave it. ‘Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the Teacher. Everything is meaningless!’” Ecclesiastes 12:1,6-8.
Your friend Jean