“3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:” Exodus 4:3–4 KJV

You cannot dominate a world you have not prepared for.

Most times, when God wants to send a man to dominate his world, He sends him to prepare. God kept Moses for forty years in the palace and forty years in the wilderness to prepare him for a ministry that would last forty years.

He learned boldness and negotiation while living in the palace. He also understood how to lead people and depend on God without relying on connections when he was a shepherd in the wilderness.

Being in the palace made him appear as a prince, while being a shepherd was considered one of the lowest positions among the Jews. God wanted him to have a taste of both worlds: relating with the mighty and leading the lowly.

Moses stood before God and received a sign, but he did not just run off to the palace. He rehearsed it. If Moses had not rehearsed it, he would have gone before Pharaoh, and the sign God gave him could have become his biggest embarrassment. That rod would have become a snake, and Moses would have run away.

It was because Moses rehearsed that he understood that he could not only turn a rod into a snake but also turn a snake back into a rod.

I know God has spoken to you, but please, go and rehearse.

Before you start a public prophetic ministry, start prophesying to your friends. Before you start a global teaching ministry, start teaching your colleagues.

When you get scared during rehearsal, it is acceptable. But when you get scared on the stage, it may be a sign of a lack of mastery.

You may be excited about shining in your world, but you will need mastery—superior mastery through preparation—to shine for a long time.