So Moses is thinking, "even if I am willing to buy all this, who is going to believe that God appeared to me?" So God says OK, let me give you three "signs".
A sign is not simply a demonstration of God's power. It is the "proof" that God is present. So God turns Moses' shepherd's crook into a snake; he turns Moses' hand leperous and then healthy again; he turns Nile water into blood.
Before God got a hold of them, they were ordinary things: a cane, a shepherd's hand, some water from the Nile. But in God's hands, they make a statement.
While these tricks are impressive enough even to us, they say even more in the symbolism of Egyptian culture. A snake is the symbol of an Egyptian king. Leperosy is the most feared disease of that day - a disease without cure. And blood is the color of war, spilled on Egyptian ground. God is basically throwing his glove in a challenge: he is a powerful king declaring war on Egypt.
Write
Think about your faith story: how have you experience God showing his presence in your life? What ordinary everyday things does God use to make his presence felt?
Presently, where is God showing himself to you - in what relationship or circumstances? In what ways you need to know that God is present?
Who do you know needs a sign of God's presence?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about how your experience of the ways he shows he is present. Thank God for the way he is always with you.
Pray about your need for God to be present. Ask God for the help you need, the reassureance of his presence, and the courage to face the challenging relationships and circumstances in your life.
Pray for your friend who needs a sign of God's presence. Ask God how you can come along them to help them.
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way he makes his presence felt, and the ways he shows himself through you to your friends.