We Must Lay This Down to Follow God

In Exodus 4:2-5, we find one of the most pivotal moments in Moses’ life. God asks him a simple question: “What is that in your hand?” Moses replies, “A staff.” What happens next is both dramatic and deeply symbolic. God tells him to throw it on the ground, and when he does, it becomes a serpent. Naturally, Moses runs. Most of us would have done the same.

Then God says something that must have sounded insane to Moses: “Reach out your hand and catch it by the tail.” This defies every instinct and every ounce of practical knowledge. You don’t catch a viper by the tail. It will turn and bite you. If you’ve ever seen someone handle a snake, they grab it by the head to control it. But God isn’t teaching snake-handling techniques. He’s asking Moses, “Do you trust Me?”

Releasing What’s in Our Hands
God was inviting Moses into a moment of surrender. He was saying, “Take what’s in your hand and release it to Me.” But releasing control is difficult. We love to hold on to what we know, what we have, what we’ve built. From the very beginning, humanity has struggled with this. We want to rule our own lives, define right and wrong for ourselves, and cling tightly to what we think gives us control.

Yet Moses obeys. After running from the snake, he reaches out just as God commanded and grabs it by the tail. Miraculously, it turns back into a staff.

Then God says something even more profound: “This,” referring to the transformed staff, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

This moment wasn’t just about a miracle. It was about Moses learning to trust God with everything he had.

God Uses What We Lay Down
Moses’ staff becomes the tool through which God performs many miracles. But that transformation only happens after Moses releases it. Until we release what’s in our hands, we never know what God can do with it.

Pastor Rick Warren points out that this moment might be one of the most important miracles in the Old Testament. Without it, there’s no Exodus, no deliverance, no Promised Land, and ultimately, no path to the Messiah. It all begins with a staff being surrendered.

God's question—“What’s in your hand?”—was not for His benefit. God already knew. He asks questions to teach us. He wanted Moses to see the significance of what he was holding.

Rick Warren outlines three things the staff represents in Moses’ life:
His Identity: Moses was a shepherd, and the staff marked his role. Especially for men, identity is often wrapped up in work. When that role is threatened or removed, we often question our worth. But God says, “Lay that down. I have more for you than a title or a profession.”

His Income: In the ancient world, wealth was measured in flocks. A shepherd’s staff represented his means of earning and maintaining that wealth. Proverbs 27 even says, “Know well the condition of your flocks,” tying flocks directly to financial stability.

His Influence: The staff wasn’t just a tool for herding. It was a symbol of leadership. Shepherds used their staff to guide and move their flock. It was the primary tool of influence.

God was asking Moses to surrender his identity, his income, and his influence. Not to take them away permanently, but to transform them into something far greater.

The Rod of God
Something extraordinary happens after this moment. The staff is never again referred to as Moses’ staff. From this point forward, it’s called the rod of God. What Moses once used for everyday survival, God now uses for supernatural impact.

Every miracle in Moses’ life flows through that surrendered staff. That’s the power of laying down what we hold most tightly. When we surrender our identity, income, and influence, God can breathe life into it.

 But there’s a warning: if we pick it back up on our own terms, it dies again. If we cling to our own sense of control, we miss what God wants to do. God tells Moses—and tells us today—“If you lay it down, I will make it come alive.”

 The God Who Still Sends
 What’s striking is that even after this powerful moment, Moses still tries to resist. He gives God more excuses. And while Scripture says God becomes angry, He still sends him. That’s the grace of God. He knows our fears and doubts, but He’s committed to His purpose in our lives.

 This isn’t just about Moses. It’s about us. We often struggle with surrender. We tie our identity to our job. We measure our value by our income. We try to build influence through worldly means. And yet, God says: “Lay it down.”

 God is not trying to take something from you. He’s trying to do something through you.

 The Battle for Allegiance
 Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” Mammon was the god of materialism. In our culture, it’s the pursuit of wealth, power, and status. But God says these things cannot share space with Him. They compete for our hearts.

 Moses had to make a choice. So do we.

 Will we hold onto our stick—our control, our career, our security—or will we trust God enough to lay it down?

 What Will You Lay Down?
 This passage is not just history. It’s an invitation.

 God is still asking, “What’s in your hand?”

 Will you release it?

If you trust Him—if you lay down your identity, your income, and your influence—He will transform what you surrender into something alive. He will use it to do more than you can imagine.

 It may never be called yours again, but that’s the point.

 It will be His.

 And that’s where the miracles begin.


This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. Check out the full message below!