Exodus 3: The Burning Bush
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
That day was as normal as any other. Moses was just going through his normal routine of taking care of the flock. But on that particular day, something out of the ordinary caught Moses’ attention. And instead of just carrying on, or simply turning back to the flock – which certainly demanded some part of Moses’ immediate attention. Moses turned aside to see what was really going on here. After he turned aside, God spoke. Did you catch that? After, not before. God waited to speak to Moses until he had his undivided attention. Then, God spoke such profound words that Moses’ life would never be the same again. Never ever. God revealed His true character, and Moses was transformed.
Have you been longing to hear from God?
You may not even be aware that there exists in your heart an unwillingness to turn your full, entire, complete, undivided attention to your Lord and Savior. Maybe God has been trying to get your attention for quite sometime now. If you’re anything like me, then there may be some crazy things going on in and around your life. God will use our circumstances and people to get us to stop and think, “What in the world is going on here?!” I have definitely found myself saying exactly that these past few weeks.
Are you ready to hear the voice of God?
Turn your full attention to your God and Savior. Give Him your undivided attention, totally focused on who He is. He will speak to you words so profound! Words of wisdom and truth – and He will speak them right into your very heart. Right into the very core, the very midst of wherever you need Him most. His words will sustain you, and stabilize you. He will fill you with understanding and give you insight into whatever you are facing.
I think that we can both agree that receiving all of that – ooh! Don’t we want that!! – is worth stopping, pausing, and turning to see…to take a closer look at the bush that has just caught fire.