What Is That In Your Hand? ~ Valerie Ronald

God is the master of re-purposing. In His hands, everyday objects become tools to bring about miracles.

~ a jar of flour and a jug of oil never depleted, keep a poor widow of Zarephath and her son from starvation. (1 Kings 17)

~ a scarlet cord hung in a window spares the life of a woman of Jericho, who turns up in the lineage of Jesus. (Joshua 2)

~ when He sends Moses to lead his people out of captivity, God turns his simple shepherd’s staff into a snake, as a miraculous sign for the Israelites of the authenticity of His message of deliverance. (Ex. 4)

But before Moses witnesses this miracle, God asks him a crucial question.   

“What is that in your hand?”

This simple yet profound question is an essential determiner of my purpose as a writer. Through meditating on the story of Moses’ staff, I continue to learn how God wants to use the gifts and talents He has given me to fulfill His purposes.

God never asks a question that He does not know the answer to already. He asks questions for our benefit, or in this case, for the benefit of Moses. Moses had a staff in his hand, his most essential tool for herding and protecting the sheep in his care. It was an extension of his own arm, used in multiple ways in his duties as a shepherd, and for his own support and comfort during long desert treks. God’s question was meant to help Moses see the simple tool of his shepherd’s work as instrumental in realizing God’s ultimate purpose of freeing His chosen people. In God’s hands, the simplest of things can become useful beyond what we can think or imagine.

My “staff”, the tool I have in my hand, is writing. God stirred my desire to write in my early childhood. Through all the twists and turns of my life, it has never left. At first I wrote for my own enjoyment, then I pursued education to become a professional writer. It wasn’t until I became a believer in Jesus Christ that I realized my writing was a tool, a gift from God to be used to glorify Him.

In the Exodus story, God tells Moses to throw his staff to the ground. What was once a dead piece of wood miraculously becomes a live snake. Until Moses released the staff from his grasp, he would not realize God’s power to use him in the task ahead.

I don’t think I’m alone in being rather obsessive about my own writing. Every page is like a child, labored over and birthed from my own creative core. If I keep it clasped close to my chest, trying to steer it to where I think it should go, it will only go as far as human limitations can take it. I may want to hold onto it, control it, claim it as my own, but when released, it comes alive by the power of God and can be instrumental in changing lives.

Knowing my writing is for God to use as He sees fit does not excuse me from applying consistent effort in diligently practicing and improving my craft. As a co-creator with God in developing my talents, I still need to do the research, develop my vocabulary, read more experienced writers, and write as much as I can. Just as Moses’ staff was just a piece of wood without his skills as a shepherd to put it to use, I need to bring as much ability and training to my writing as I can, so God has good material to work with. Then I need to release it to God to use it the way He wants, taking it places I can never imagine.  

Over time God has spoken to my heart about the purpose of my writing. I find I am not so much seeking after recognition or readership, although those can be positive bi-products of my writing life. Now my purpose is to take delight in God, who gives me joy when I write, thus His desire in now the desire of my own heart. Because I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according His purpose.   

If God can use a shepherd in the back of the desert, equipped with only a simple wood staff, to bring His chosen people out of bondage into the Promised Land, then He can use me and what I have in my hand as well. Simple words.


For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36 NIV)