Courage and Confidence: 5-Days to Unbox the Woman God Created You to BeSample

The life of Moses and the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt are accounts I love reading again and again because, as a leader and coach who works from a purpose framework, they are such great depictions of purpose unboxed. The ten plagues aside, most people would mark the parting and crossing of the Red Sea the most memorable moment in the Exodus story. But there was another moment that captured my heart. It’s when God appears to Moses in the burning bush and reveals to him that he possesses more than he realizes for the assignment ahead of him.

God asks what Moses has in his hand, and he replies, “A staff.” It was common for Moses to have a staff. It held no significance aside from being a walking stick or a shepherd’s staff. He carried it with him every day. It was used in one of the first miracles Moses would see God perform. God tells him to throw it on the ground, and it turns into a snake, and when he picks it back up, it returns to its common walking-stick form (Exodus 4:1-5). God is clearly with Moses. And after some time, you probably know the story, Pharaoh lets God’s people go, and they are on their way to freedom and the land flowing with milk and honey.

Can you picture it? If they were Pentecostals, I just know they would have been running laps. Moses must have felt amazing! God was with him; therefore, he could not fail. Yet, not too long after their grand exit, they meet their first opposition—the Red Sea.

Why does purpose seem to lead us to a dead end? With no way to cross the sea and Pharaoh and his army in hot pursuit to recapture the Israelites, the confetti soon turned to criticism of Moses’ leadership. The people wanted to know what Moses planned to do. The pressure was on, and not because Moses heard wrong at the burning bush or didn’t have what it took to lead the people. This pressure was about to position and propel Moses into his assignment. The Lord said to Moses,

“Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.”

EXODUS 14:15-16

Moses didn’t have an escape strategy, but he did have something in his hand. It had been with him the entire time. Before Moses encountered God at the burning bush, it had only been used for herding sheep and for supporting himself. Since then, Moses has used his rod to perform miracles. On its own, it was just a staff. But it was still a tool for leading and walking—the two things that were needed in that moment at the Red Sea. God asked for action (“Tell the people of Israel to go forward”) and implementation (“Lift up your staff”). What is in your hands? The assignment before you does not require a divine move of God. It requires a move of you to put your divine natural abilities into action.

REMEMBER: Some pressures come to position and propel you into your assignment. Consider how embracing this way of thinking gives you the courage and confidence to be the woman God created you to be, even under pressure.

Thank you for reading! This plan was adapted from Courage and Confidence (NavPress 2024). Click here to learn more or purchase your copy.