FEBRUARY 23

At the command of God, Moses was on the way to fulfill his destiny as the deliverer of God’s people, Israel. Forty years previously, Moses had tried doing this his way, acting in self-effort. This time, he went forth with the rod of God in his hand:

And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Lord said unto Moses , When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. (Exodus 4:19-21)

This time, Moses not only had the vision of his destiny, he had the supernatural power necessary to accomplish it. Repeatedly in the negotiations with Pharaoh this “rod of God” was used to perform miracles. It became a serpent, was used to turn waters to blood and dust into lice, and it brought the plagues of frogs, locust, thunder, and hail.

When Israel left Egypt and were pursued by a relentless enemy, Moses stretched out this same rod of God over the Red Sea and it parted, enabling the people to pass over while drowning their pursuers. During the wilderness wandering, Moses used the rod of God to bring forth water from a rock for a thirsty multitude and lifted it over a fierce battle scene to secure victory for Israel.

As a young man, Moses had a clear picture of his destiny–he was to deliver God’s people from slavery. What he did not realize at that time was that he could not do it in himself. Forty years later, when Moses approached his destiny with the rod of God in his hands, he was successful.  It took Moses forty years in the desert to come to this point. How long will it take you?

Before Jesus returned to heaven, He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high–the spiritual rod of God, so to speak. In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit baptized these men, and from that point on they embraced their destinies with power and authority. They healed the sick. They raised the dead. They stood firm in the face of adversity. Peter, a man who at one time could not confess Christ before a little servant girl, stood before a multitude and delivered a sermon that resulted in the conversion of thousands.

Do not try to accomplish your destiny without the “rod of God”–the power of the Holy Spirit. You must have more than a vision of destiny. You must have the authority of Almighty God empowering you to fulfill it.