OH LORD! I NEED AN EXPLANATION

"There is the Negeb; and the Jordan valley; and Jericho, the city of palm trees; and Zoar.' the Lord told him'.  'It is the promised land’, the Lord told Moses. I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give it to their descendants. Now you have seen it, but you will not enter it." (Deut. 34: 3-4) [TLB]

So many times we dilly dally between decisions and there's a conflict in our hearts as to the kind of life we should live to get the kind of results we desire. Even after trying all in our capacity, we are often puzzled based on the fact that not all good works bring good results.

The life of Moses is a typical story of a puzzling experience. He was a strong man! Apart from the fact that the call of God was upon him such that it took God raising him up in the house of his prospective enemy for him to survive. He was called and he was chosen. Not only that, his life was divinely planned and orchestrated. His first fourty years were spent in Pharaoh's palace.   His next fourty years, was spent in the wilderness where he eventually met with God in preparation for the next assignment. And the last fourty years spent on the way to the Promised Land.

Having done all these to fulfil destiny, Moses satisfied all requirements humanly speaking, but he still didn't get to the said Promised Land. He was the only man that experienced the real presence of God in the literal sense. He was the first man that saw the handwriting of the Lord. He knew how to strike the balance between the willingness of God to bless Isrealites and the unwillingness of the Isrealites to follow God's instructions. He was brave. The bible even recorded him to be the meekest man on earth. (Numbers 12:3). He is indeed a role model. He survived all, but didn't finish the race.

This kind of experience brings questions into our minds and we 'almost' want to think God is cruel. It seems God is cruel when a lady keeps herself till marriage only to get married and be barren. You want think God is partial when you do all in your capacity but your results don't commensurate with your efforts. You'll want to think God is a liar when you dedicate your life to Him and you are eventually being mocked because you couldn't make ends meet. Sometimes you compare the results in some people's lives with yours and you'll want to tell God some things you think He might not know about the kind of people He blessed. You tend to wonder if God is fair and if He really cares. You just desperately demand explanations.

But through it all, God can never be at fault. He is all knowing anyway. He doesn't see the way men do. Men assess us based on our profile and reputation while God assess us through our characters. He looks at the heart.

When God called Moses, God made use of what he had with him; his rod. The first thing God did with the rod of Moses was to turn the rod into a serpent. God gave Moses a full picture of the danger embedded in his good instrument. The rod is an instrument to direct, but inside Moses' rod lies a serpent. Every man has a serpent within their rods. There's a 'dark hole' in the heart that lurks even through our good deeds.

While Moses was telling God he was not up to the task, God was showing him the serpent in his rod. God was showing him what could prevent him from finishing strong (Exodus 4). God was telling him the major issue to deal with was not his inability to speak, but his ability to control the serpentine part of his talent. The same rod that proved the call of God over Moses' life stopped him from entering the Promised Land when used wrongly. He smote the rock with his rod when he was not supposed to. (Numbers 20: 11 - 12)

There's a destructive element in every talent/gift/grace God gives us. The same thing that takes a man up may bring him down if care is not taken. When all will be said and done, God will judge us based on our heart conditions. The "serpentine" part of a man can get him reputation but it takes a rod to maintain good characters and it is the character that matters to God. Moses smote the rock and the people celebrated him, he earned good reputation and profile but God rejected him. He did a good act at the wrong time with a wrong motive.

This gives a good clue to some puzzling questions in our hearts. The reason why some things have not been in place in our lives is because we haven't gain full mastery of the serpent in our rods. As you step out into the fourth month (APRIL), don't forget to deal with the serpent in your rod. If you can check into the inner most depth of your heart, you will get some significant explanations to life's major questions.

Shalom!

Bro Niyi Omolaiye

Dept. of Animal Science and Biotechnology

General Secretary