When the Lord, Jehovah, called Moses to go to the people of Israel and announce to them that God was ready to set them free from slavery, Moses insisted that they would not believe him. So God gave him a number of signs to perform before the people as evidence that God was indeed miraculously working with Moses.

We want to take a close look today at the first sign: “And the Lord said unto him [Moses], ‘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.” (Exodus 4:2-4).

Our focus in this lesson is not particularly on Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage, but rather on God’s ability to do what He did to that wooden rod. This event carries great significance for us when we are seeking to believe the Lord for healing of our physical bodies. We are spiritual beings living in physical bodies, and when we have a problem in that physical body, we need to have something physical changed. Because we are seeking that change from a Spirit God, we sometimes find it hard to comprehend His ability to make those changes without using any physical instruments or medications that we can relate to with our five senses.

But let’s look at what He did to this rod. It was a solid, extraordinarily sturdy piece of wood, undoubtedly several feet long. Moses used it for a great many things during his shepherding years and then throughout the journey from Egypt to Canaan. It was real wood, and it was strong enough to serve him with no defects for well over 40 years. Yet by one simple act of exerting His spiritual power, the Lord turned that solid, totally lifeless, piece of wood into a living creature, with muscle, organs, skin, eyes, etc.

Now, this serpent was not a figment of Moses’ imagination or a mirage, because Moses was so frightened by it that he ran from it. But the Lord insisted that he pick it up, and once Moses had a grip on the serpent, it became a solid piece of wood again.

Now, we’re not talking about simply changing the shape or size of an object. We are talking about actually changing the very chemical and molecular structure of an object – changing it at the cellular level throughout the whole object. Something that was totally without life instantly became a living creature and then, by another act of God’s power, became a totally inanimate object again.

Once we get a clear picture of this event, we begin to realize just how easily that same God can change the chemical and molecular structure of any created thing – including the structure of flesh, of tumors, of diseased tissue, of abnormal limbs, of any physical element with which our body is impaired. God has no more problem neutralizing a huge tumor, or creating healthy bone where there is none, or replacing plaque coated arteries with new supple, pliant arterial tissue than He had changing a piece of wood into a serpent or changing a living being into a lifeless stick.

No matter what you are facing in your physical body today, do not limit God and His delivering, miracle working, healing power. He didn’t feel any strain on His power when He changed Moses’ rod, and He will feel no strain on His power when He changes the negative tissues in your body into healthy tissues.

And don’t, in your own mind, limit His willingness to do the work. If He was willing to do such an extraordinary thing for Moses, for no other reason than to provide examples of His ability and willingness to deliver His people — even before Jesus had died for them and given them His own righteousness — how much more is He willing to do as much to deliver the people His own Son gave His life for. The Old Covenant and God’s promise to Abraham were enough to cause Him to move in such creative power. How much more, under the New Covenant — with the finished work of Jesus Christ securing us a place in God’s heart — will He do equally miraculous works for us.

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