Your Walking Stick

Mark 6:7-8

He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a walking stick: no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts.

In this passage, Jesus sent the Twelve on mission with the authority over unclean spirits. His desire was to use His disciples to do the same work He had been doing in healing the sick and delivering people from demonic spirits. They were to take very limited supplies with them, of which the main item was a walking stick. Just what significance does a walking stick hold when going out to minister to others?

The walking stick is symbolic of Moses’s rod in the O.T. This rod was what God used to work through Moses. When he threw it down upon command, it became a snake. When he picked it up, it became a rod again. Moses parted the Red Sea with the rod, and he led the people through the wilderness. The rod was God’s spiritual gift to Moses, and He worked supernaturally through the rod.

1 Cor. 12:4-11 teaches us that the Holy Spirit gives us gifts to use to build God’s kingdom. Not everyone has the same gift, but the same Spirit gives the gifts and works through them to lead others to Christ and to edify the body of believers known as the church. Knowing your spiritual gift is important in following Christ and serving Him.

Here, Jesus sent the disciples out to minister with a walking stick – symbolic of their spiritual gift. When we use the gifts God gives us to minister, He works supernaturally through them. Through the use of our God-given gift, we have authority over unclean spirits. God wants to use nothing more than this as we go out to minister to others.

When God sends us out, we often have nothing more than His word, our spiritual gift to serve, and our own testimony. This, however, is all we need to build His kingdom. Anything else we need, He will give us as we go forth in obedience to Him. God will draw people to us along the way who will be receptive to His word through us and will help meet our needs in return. When we give, God gives back to us through those we reach. We need nothing more than our spiritual gift (aka walking stick) and the willingness to use it wherever He sends us.

Where is your walking stick, and are you using it? Don’t lay it down or discard it. Don’t try to use it inappropriately. Your walking stick is made to guide you to your destiny in building God’s kingdom. It is your tool through which God will work, and it will help you keep your balance as you travel your path. Your walking stick will give you authority over your enemy, and it is a weapon against his attacks. While you may think you have little, you have more than enough when you use what God has given you.

Have a blessed day!