March 11, 2020
Exodus 3:4-6 (NIV)
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
CONSIDER THIS
On the far side of the wilderness we come to the Mountain of God, and God does not disappoint.
Moses’ attention, riveted by the strange phenomenon captured in the ten words we explored yesterday, “The bush was on fire it did not burn up,” walks toward the bush to investigate.
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
What does one do when they hear their name called twice by an unburning bush? One responds in good biblical form:
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
I wonder how it might change the shape of my days if the first words from my mouth each morning were these, “Here I am”? Though I may not audibly hear it, these words would be spoken in faith that God is indeed calling my name.
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
This whole affair with the unburning bush was exceptional and extraordinary; a one time deal. After all, there is only one burning bush in the whole Bible, right? It’s easy to marvel at these kinds of stories and then dismiss them as having little bearing on our own lives and experience.
It is true these stories with Abraham and Moses and so forth are unique in the history of the world. They are in many ways unrepeatable. The Bible does not intend to normalize the voice of God coming from a bush on fire but not burning up. God did extraordinary things at particular times with unique people back then, but not so much anymore, right? Wrong.
We live in the age of the Holy Spirit, who is being poured out all over the world, on all flesh, women and men, giving vision to the young and dreams to the old. There is a famous and oft quoted verse of poetry from Elizabeth Barrett Browning that fits here.
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
Our problem is sleepwalking. We have lost our expectancy of hearing from God in the early morning and seeing God in our days. The active prevenient working of the Holy Spirit in every person we encounter so easily slips out of our awareness. We forget that we are the burning bush—ordinary human beings illuminated with the fiery love of God. The Spirit of God is renewing the face of the Earth, right here, right now. All ground is holy ground.
Only he who sees takes off his shoes.
6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
People who say such things . . .
THE PRAYER
Father, I want to be a person who says such things. I confess how easily I slip into slumber. I wake up only to hit the proverbial snooze bar in my spirit. My vision get so blinded by my circumstances. Wake me up. Give me ears to hear and eyes to see. In this moment, I speak aloud in faith, “Here am I.” Come Holy Spirit, and train me to be such a person of faith. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
THE QUESTION
Do you think it could be possible that you are sleep walking in this season of your life? Would you be open to the possibility that this could be true? Only those who are open dare ask God to wake them up.
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com