Moses was afraid – like some evangelists and pastors! In Exodus 4:1 Moses answered God, ‘They won’t believe me, they won’t listen to my voice, they will say, ‘You don’t know God, how do we know that you have met with Him?’ No, I will not go!’

God’s answer to Moses was, ‘What have you got in your hand?’ ‘Oh, that’s just my wooden stick which I broke from a tree, I cut it and shaped it myself and I use it to defend the sheep from the wild animals.’ Then God said to Moses, ‘Throw your stick on the ground.’ Immediately that stick was changed into a poisonous snake, coming straight for him, and he ran away as fast as he could!

This snake was a reality, not a picture. God understands the reality in your life. Moses was afraid and ran away from it. If there were a snake in front of me, I would run away too. But God said to Moses, ‘Don't be afraid of the snake, go and pick it up by its tail!’ If you know anything about snakes, that’s dangerous, because if you pick it up by its tail, it will swing round and bite you. If you’re going to get it, take its head. But God said take its tail. Why? Because God was dealing with this thing, not Moses. So Moses picked up the snake by its tail and the moment that he touched it, it was no longer a snake, it was his stick again! Now Moses began to understand. 

Don’t be afraid, you who want to work for God, He is with you! He is going to demonstrate His presence and work miracles together in co-operation with you. That is exactly what God said to Moses.