Don’t Leave Home Without It? His Rod and Staff!!!
I was sitting at my desk this am, reading my One Year Chronological Bible. Today’s reading started at Exodus 7:14 -25, NLT. 14 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “´Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn. And he still refuses to let the people go. 15 So go to Pharaoh in the morning a he goes down to the river. Stand on the bank of the Nile, and meet hi there. Be sure to take along the staff that turned into a snake.” Please note before Pharaoh, God took the staff turned it into a snake, (then back to a staff) to show all His power!
Vs 19 “then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt- all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water into blood.
As I continued to read about the 9 plaques, I saw that all but two of them had the same direction. Take the staff, raise it up, and ba boom, plaque! The two plaques that did not have this were directly performed by the Lord, without any human intervention.
I began some study on the ‘staff/rod” 1st mentioned in Exodus 4.
The firs thing I noted was that they were traditionally made of wood, with a crook at the end. Palm tree wood- symbolizes victory and overcoming. Olive tree wood- Symbolizes a touch from God. A shepherd’s rod was traditionally made of oak! Trees symbolize wisdom and longevity.
Moses worked in Median with Jethro tending sheep. One can imagine that Oak is what his staff was made of. You can bet Moses TOOK IT EVERYWHERE. It was a part of his identity. We can also infer that with the track record with the staff, that it became more and more evident to Moses, how important it was to have his staff, at all times. That was not just for herding sheep!
A staff does many things; Can be a literal support, a defensive weapon, offensive weapon, gives extra length to your arm, symbolizes position, like a scepter. Also, authority, and God’s spirit being with one, a guide for the ‘sheep’, and for the blind! A source of the miraculous. The “staff” is also source of comfort, and nourishment. I believe a “staff” is also a symbol prayer and praise! Could it be that God is giving us strategy for the impossible looking situations in today’s world?
See Psalm 23:4
Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.” NLT
Even David knew its value, and who the Source was, behind the ‘staff’.
I inquired of the Lord what the spiritual significance was for us today, with all of what is going on in the world.
His answer was swift!
He also showed me that the ‘staff’ was always raised up to the heavens, before the result came. That being said, an act of worship, and offering and recognition of all of this is with Gods presence and authority. An act of HONOR to Him!
I sensed He was telling me when we come into His Kingdom , and He is Lord of our lives, are all given a spiritual ‘staff’, to navigate this world. Also, I felt Him impress on me that we even though we are all given a ‘staff’’, many are not using it! Or are we even aware of its power in our lives? Many are not even carrying their “staff’ ‘. By the way we are all, JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST! Romans 8:17 says this to us.
His authority, His resurrection Power. Do we truly realize what the Power of prayer, of the “RIGHTEOUS” really is?
Another words; James 5
“13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” NLT
Righteousness equals, right standing with God. Perhaps the message is to us, is to clean up our ‘acts ‘so to speak. Then when we raise those staffs to heaven, the resultant answers will be significantly different, then if we come before Him ‘unclean’.
Many of us don’t even realize the power of self-examination, daily. We need to do this! The Holy Spirit is there to reveal those things. Not for condemnation, but for revelation to remove any spiritual static from our ‘lines’.
God has given us His resources and maybe the source of unanswered prayers is not Him, but us! Then we must remember to carry our God given ‘staffs’ everywhere we go, and to use them, as we are led. Not to hurt others but to be those powerful conduits to heaven, to effect changes.
We also need to know our enemy and that he can cloud our God given authority with shame, unworthiness, and condemnation. This to leave us feeling powerless. How do you know the lie, you need to know the truth first! Remember; “Romans 8:1 New Living Translation (NLT)
Life in the Spirit
“8 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but the Spirit’
Don’t just read the word, employ the power in your ‘staff”.
All we need to do is to ‘raise our staff’ and watch Him work!
Remember: DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!
Josephine Marie Ayers/ the fiery prophet
Flames of Fire Ministries, Inc./josephine@flameoffire.us