Getting Over Yourself: Let God Use Your Past

Jul 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: What’s in Your Hand? Trusting God’s Ordinary Tools

Moses held a simple rod—a shepherd’s tool—yet God transformed it into a sign of divine power. Insecurity often blinds us to the potential of what we already possess. God’s question to Moses wasn’t about ability but availability. The ordinary becomes extraordinary when surrendered to Him. Your “rod” may seem insignificant, but God specializes in multiplying humble offerings. Stop focusing on what you lack and trust what He’s placed within your grip. [29:50]

“So the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A rod.’ And He said, ‘Cast it on the ground.’ So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.”
(Exodus 4:2-4, NKJV)

Reflection: What “rod” has God already placed in your hand—a skill, resource, or opportunity you’ve undervalued? How might surrendering it to Him shift your perspective from lack to possibility?

Day 2: From Brokenness to Wholeness in God’s Hands

When Moses hid his leprous hand, God restored it, proving His power to heal what shame tries to conceal. Our weaknesses aren’t obstacles to God—they’re canvases for His glory. Like Moses, we often fixate on flaws, but God sees potential. That habit, scar, or regret you bury can become a testimony when exposed to His grace. Healing begins when we stop hiding and start trusting. [30:24]

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now put your hand in your bosom.’ And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And He said, ‘Put your hand in your bosom again.’ So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh.”
(Exodus 4:6-7, NKJV)

Reflection: What area of brokenness have you been hiding from God? How might offering it to Him transform it into a testament of His restorative power?

Day 3: Your Past Doesn’t Disqualify God’s Purpose

Moses’ murderous past haunted him, yet God still called him to lead. Insecurity thrives on rehearsing failures, but grace rewrites narratives. Our histories of sin, rejection, or regret don’t limit Heaven’s agenda. God doesn’t use people because they’re perfect—He uses them because He’s faithful. Your past may explain you, but it doesn’t define you. [44:37]

“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’”
(Exodus 4:10, NKJV)

Reflection: What chapter of your past do you fear disqualifies you from serving God? How might embracing His grace over guilt free you to step into His calling?

Day 4: Who Made Your Mouth? Embracing Divine Sovereignty

Moses fixated on his stutter, but God asked, “Who gave man a mouth?” Our limitations are God’s invitations to rely on His sufficiency. Speech impediments, lack of education, or social anxiety can’t thwart His plans. The same God who formed your weaknesses will anoint your obedience. Stop magnifying your “can’ts” and start trusting His “cans.” [31:54]

“So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?’”
(Exodus 4:11, NKJV)

Reflection: What self-perceived limitation have you allowed to silence your obedience? How might acknowledging God’s sovereignty over your design empower you to speak, serve, or step forward?

Day 5: The Power of a Single “Yes” to God’s Call

Moses’ excuses ended with a reluctant “send me” (Exodus 4:13). Every divine assignment requires overcoming the fear of inadequacy. God doesn’t need your ability—He needs your availability. That hesitant “yes” to teach Sunday school, apologize, or lead a prayer can ignite miracles. Destiny unfolds not when we’re ready, but when we’re willing. [32:46]

“But he said, ‘O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.’”
(Exodus 4:13, NKJV)

Reflection: What specific “yes” has God been prompting you to say despite your reservations? What step can you take today to move from excuse-making to obedient action?

Sermon Summary

Exodus 4 answers Exodus 3. Moses stands in front of a holy assignment with an insecure imagination. His pedigree and his past start talking louder than God’s promise. The Hebrew prince raised in an Egyptian palace remembers murder, rejection, and forty years on the backside of nowhere, and he imagines every what if. The text names that spiral for what it is: getting stuck in his own head after God already spoke. The Lord will not let the what ifs have the last word. God answers a fearful imagination with three signs and a question that slices through the fog: what’s in your hand.

The rod in Moses’ hand becomes a serpent when it leaves his grip and hits the ground. God then turns a healthy hand leprous white and restores it, and promises to turn Nile water into blood. The signs preach. God can quicken what looks like a stick. God can reverse what looks like it cannot be reversed. God can confront an empire’s river with crimson judgment. The rod exposes how easy it is to undervalue what is already in hand. The throw-down exposes the spiritual math of trust: what leaves a human hand can be multiplied in God’s hand. The text insists it is not Moses’ job to make people believe. His job is to say what God says while the Spirit works between the saying and the hearing.

Moses then pleads an inadequate articulation. Slow of speech. Slow of tongue. The Lord answers with sovereignty and tenderness. Who made your mouth. Who permits sight and silence, sound and stillness. The living God is not surprised by a stutter. The help of the Lord is the promise, not an easy road. God adds Aaron, so vertical help is joined by horizontal help. The story births meekness, because insecurity handed over to God grows humility instead of pride. Excuses keep talking until a yes shuts them up. The call does not wait for a perfect pedigree, a spotless past, or a silver tongue. The call asks for a yes, a step, and whatever is in hand. As the text shows, history with God outruns history with sin. Genesis power still makes something out of nothing, and grace keeps doing it again.

Key Takeaways

1. Insecure imagination fuels hesitation [41:33] Anxious what ifs multiply when attention bends inward to limitations, wounds, and past mistakes. The text exposes how fear can out-argue revelation even after God has spoken. A holy redirect comes by lifting the gaze from within to the God who called first and explains later. Faith is not guesswork, it is memory of God’s words outrunning imagined defeat. [41:33]
2. God asks, What’s in your hand [51:16] The question reframes loss by spotlighting what remains. A stick despised in human vocabulary becomes an instrument in God’s hand when it leaves human control. Calling grows at the intersection of trust and release, where what is ordinary gets thrown down and made useful. Provision often hides in plain sight until obedience uncovers it. [51:16]
3. Results belong to God’s Spirit [59:49] The assignment is to speak faithfully, not to manufacture outcomes. Between the speaking and the hearing, the Spirit works on hearts in ways no strategy can script. Perseverance becomes possible when the burden of convincing is laid down. Courage rises when obedience is measured by faithfulness, not applause. [59:49]
4. Sovereignty turns limits into instruments [01:05:43] Who gave your mouth is not a rebuke but a rescue from self-sufficiency. Limits are not liabilities in the hands of the Lord, they are stage and spotlight for grace. God supplies both vertical help and timely horizontal partners like Aaron. Meekness grows when a life knows it is carried, not performed. [65:43]
5. Say yes, then start walking [01:16:05] Clarity often waits on movement. Rooms, resources, and relationships align as steps of obedience are taken, not before. Excuses exhaust the soul, but a surrendered yes makes space for guidance to find the path. Destiny is discovered by motion, not by mastering every contingency on paper. [76:05]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[10:17] - Praise and preparation
[28:45] - Text announced Exodus 4:1-13
[29:28] - Moses’ what if begins
[31:33] - Slow of speech confessed
[32:46] - Series frame get over yourself
[33:21] - History that shapes hesitation
[35:33] - Burning bush grace despite past
[38:26] - Insecure imagination named
[41:33] - Get out your own head
[50:16] - Look up not within
[50:58] - Immediate transformation begins
[51:16] - What’s in your hand
[54:12] - Stop undervaluing the stick
[55:11] - Rod, hand, and sign-work
[56:09] - God works on in through
[59:49] - Not your job to convince
[64:15] - Inadequate articulation raised
[65:43] - Who made your mouth
[72:00] - Promise of the Lord’s help
[72:45] - Aaron given horizontal help
[73:23] - Meekness born from limitation
[76:05] - Say yes and start walking
[77:35] - From salvation to service

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Exodus 4:1-13 (NKJV)
Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’” So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. [...] Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”

Observation Questions

What three signs did God give Moses to confirm His power (Exodus 4:1-9)?
How did Moses describe his own limitations when God called him (Exodus 4:10)?
In the sermon, what does the rod in Moses’ hand symbolize about undervaluing what God has already provided? [51:16]
What does God’s response to Moses’ fear of rejection reveal about His priorities versus human expectations? [38:26]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think God chose to use Moses’ ordinary rod as the first sign instead of something more impressive?
How does Moses’ focus on his past failures and limitations (murder, speech) mirror the way people today hesitate to trust God’s calling? [44:37]
The sermon says, “God’s sovereignty turns limits into instruments.” How does Exodus 4:11-12 redefine what it means to be “qualified” for God’s work?
What does God’s promise, “I will be with your mouth,” teach about His role in overcoming our weaknesses? [31:54]

Application Questions

What “rod” (an ordinary resource, skill, or relationship) are you undervaluing in your life that God might want to use for His purpose? How could you surrender it to Him? [54:12]
When has focusing on your past mistakes or limitations caused you to doubt God’s ability to work through you? What practical step could help you shift your focus to His promises instead? [41:33]
The sermon emphasizes that “results belong to God’s Spirit.” Where are you tempted to take responsibility for outcomes instead of staying faithful to obedience? How can you release that burden this week? [59:49]
Moses needed both God’s help (vertical) and Aaron’s partnership (horizontal). Who is your “Aaron”—someone who encourages or complements your weaknesses—and how can you lean on them more intentionally? [01:12:45]
What “yes” is God asking you to say today—even if you don’t feel fully ready or equipped? What small step of obedience could you take this week? [01:16:05]

Sermon Clips

64s

#AmazingGraceDaily

“God god didn't choose you because you were perfect. God didn't choose you because you dotted every I and crossed every t. There are some blessings you got this morning in your life. Can I tell you why God did it? Because he wanted to. You ain't worked harder than other people. He gave you the house cause he wanted to. And this is why you can't stop and try to explain to everybody how you got what you got and are where you are. Sometimes you gotta tell people, but by the grace of God, I can't give you all my history, but the same grace that woke you up this morning is the same grace that woke me up this morning. The same grace that watched over my family this week is the same grace that watched over your family this week. Oh, I hear David saying, I've been young and now I'm getting old but I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor their seeds begging for bread. Is there anybody here this morning that can testify? It ain't nothing but god's amazing grace.”

72s

#PressThroughChurchBlessing

“Can I tell you why we come to church? There's a gap here between pulpit and pew. But I believe every week when I prepare a sermon that it ain't my job to convince you. It's my job to rightly handle the word of God. And if I do what I'm supposed to do, God will do everything I can't do. And somehow in between the pulpit and the pew, the spirit of God starts working. And you didn't even feel like coming to church this morning, but you got up and then you leave church and say, I'm glad I went to church because that word was for me today. Who am I preaching to that you don't always feel like it but when you press your way through, you understand there's a blessing on the other side of pressing and that's why you can't give up. You gotta keep on pressing. You gotta keep on praying. You gotta keep on fasting. You gotta keep on praising. You gotta keep on giving god your best because god ain't never gave you what's left. God always gives you what's best.”

64s

#NewInChristTransformation

“See, this is why when god saves you, he don't move you to a new city. He wants to show other people he can change you right in they face despite what they know about you. I wish I had somebody. If any man, boy, girl, woman, or child be in Christ, they are a new creature. All things have passed away and all things have become new. Let me help you. You gotta pass and the person sitting beside you got one but early this morning, god looked beyond all our thoughts to meet our every need and that's why I'm going to preach the way I preach. That's why I'm gonna holler the way I holler. You'll sit there with your cute, sophisticated self. But somebody that has sinned as much as I have, but God keeps on making a way every chance I get. Imma tell him glory. Bless his name. Let everything that have breath. Praise you the lord.”

90s

#StartWalkingSayYes

“What is it this morning that God is calling you to do? You keep giving god 99 excuses. I ain't got this and I ain't got that and god said, hold on. You ain't going to see it from where you're standing. Yeah. You gotta start walking. Yeah. And if you start walking, I'll start aligning people and places and I I got you. See me carefully. There ain't no church pastoring people that can't do everything god called them to do. Watch this. If we learn to get over self. Yeah. We keep getting in our own way. have you given god a yes? Pastor, I've been in church. You could be in church every Sunday and god ain't got your yes. Have you accepted Jesus as your lord and say, have you come to the end of yourself that pastor, I can't save myself. I need the help of the lord every day of my life.”

68s

#TrustGodWithWhatYouHave

“Notice an immediate transformation. Now God, he said, what what you got in your hand? Notice God's probing question. He's asking Moses this because of the what ifs Moses is saying, Moses can't see that he still got something to work with. Yeah. Insecurity can have you feeling like your cabinet is empty. But when you wipe your eyes clearly Uh-huh. You can see there's some stuff I lost, but there's still some left. Anybody here this morning say, pastor, there's some things I've lost. But when I wipe my eyes and see clearly how he woke me up this morning, my closet was full, my cabinets are full, I got a reasonable portion of my health and strength. Pastor, I still got something left and God don't need that much to work with. He just needs you to trust him with it. Right.”

61s

#ValueWhatYouHave

“It's the probing of god's question, but notice verses three through eight is the power of god's quickening. Now Moses says watch this. I wanna show you something. When Moses says a rod in the original language, what he's saying is, I ain't got but a stick. But notice, you gotta understand, notice his own vocabulary. Sometime your own vocabulary about what you have will determine the effort you give. You can't expect other people to respect what you got if you don't respect what you got. You got you know that he said, ain't I ain't got nothing but a stick. Watch your God says, that's all you got is a stick? Let me show you got more than a stick. Throw it down. He's like, he he he said he said, since you undervaluing what you got, let me show you the value of what you got.”

49s

#HelpOfTheLordAlways

“what god is saying, what god is telling Moses, Moses, I'm not promising you. It's going to be easy. I'm not promising you. You going to always be able to see your way. Yeah. But I'm promising you this. You will always have the help of the lord. Somebody can testify. Pastor, it ain't been easy. I've had to cry but one thing I can't argue about, I've always had the help of the lord. Give him glory. Give him praise. Oh, bless his name.”

67s

#KeepAskingKeepKnocking

“Who am I preaching to? God has already given you the answer. But you keep getting in your own way. He's already told you if you ask, you'll you'll receive. He's already told you that if you seek, you'll find. He's already told you if you knock, it will be open. But all it takes is one no for you to give up. Sometimes, you gotta keep on asking. Sometimes, you gotta keep on seeking. Sometimes, you gotta keep on knocking. You can't be so discouraged at the first no that you just throw the whole plan away. God has people that he can place you on their heart. You just ain't walked into the right room yet. But if you keep on knocking and if you keep on seeking, god has a way of reminding you that I'm still the god of Exodus chapter three verse 20. Now, unto him who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask, think, or imagine according to the power that worketh in us. Notice.”

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Getting Over Yourself: Let God Use Your Past

Devotional

Day 1: What’s in Your Hand? Trusting God’s Ordinary Tools

Day 2: From Brokenness to Wholeness in God’s Hands

Day 3: Your Past Doesn’t Disqualify God’s Purpose

Day 4: Who Made Your Mouth? Embracing Divine Sovereignty

Day 5: The Power of a Single “Yes” to God’s Call

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Getting Over Yourself: Let God Use Your Past

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