Through the lens of Man

Moses raises his staff and the sea parts. It looks heroic. Read it again.

Moses raised his staff because the LORD told him to. He did not invent the gesture. He did not impose his will on the water. He was obedient. The same staff that struck the rock in another chapter was the LORD’s staff in Moses’ hand (Ex 4:20). The strength was not Moses’. The instructions were not Moses’. He was a man with a stick obeying instructions.

This is one of the deepest pictures of mature manhood in Scripture. A man with a stick, obeying instructions. Not a man whose strength makes the sea part. A man whose obedience puts him in the place where the Father’s strength can.

Most of us would rather have Moses-strength than Moses-obedience. We want the staff to part the sea because we are strong enough to lift it. The Father wants the staff to part the sea because we lifted it when He told us to.

One small thing today: name one place where you have been waiting to feel strong before obeying. Stop waiting. Lift the staff. The sea is not parted by your strength. It is parted by His command going through your obedience.