Sinners into Saints

Those of you who know me know I get excited over the little tidbits in the Bible that I read over a thousand times and just at the perfect moment, the tidbit pops with dimension.  This happened this morning as mom and I had our little bible study.  

Prompted by this reading from Exodus 4:1-5, linked to Corinthians:  

"And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.  And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail.  And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath appeared unto thee."

The story of Moses, probably the most taught story from the Old Testament.....sometimes read with waning interest because of its familiarity, but this time it popped.

"Wow, what a picture of true faith and how God tests it - to prove Him, not us!"  

It is one thing for Moses to believe enough that God is able to do something - I, like Moses, am able to throw that staff down fully believing that God can do something with it, but it is faith on an entirely different level (persevering) to believe that I can grab that cobra by the tail - WHILE IT IS STILL A COBRA - and believe God can do something with it that won't KILL me in the process!

Thus it is God tests our faith:  not with the intent to taunt us, secretly knowing we will fail - or to test us as a lover might his love to prove it - but to show us that He is faithful.

Perhaps it is enough that when we hear the word of God, we have enough saving faith to throw that staff down, like throwing our hat into the ring...  but God wants us to have persevering saving faith - faith that grabs hold of that venomous threat and murmurs Job's words "though he slay me," believing that God will bring NEW life - enough to know that no matter the circumstance - the roaring of the lions that lay in wait, the furnace that threatens to consume, the credit agency that keeps you from recovering, the mocking of unbelievers that cause you to doubt, the betraying of friends that leave you alone, or the loss of your loved one that leaves you lonely.  God says, no!  Grab it - face it, don't run, "Moses - put forth thine Hand and take it by the tail!" - it's nothing for me to change what is threatening to what is victory.  Believe it.  Test ME!  I have turned water into wine; sinners into saints; sorrow into joy; dry bones into a nation; dry lamps into torches; lions into oxen; fish into banks; enemies into friends; death into victory.  I have conquered sin.  I have crushed the serpent.  Test ME!"