Attracted by a Burning Bush

In Exodus 3, Moses had led his wife’s father’s flock of sheep a long way, beyond a wilderness. On an apparently ordinary day, Yahweh’s messenger appeared to him as a flame in a bush. Because the bush was not burning, but simply hosting the flame, Moses drew near to know more. As he interacted with the presence of the Lord in the bush, he received the commission that revealed his destiny. Because he listened to it, a nation was formed and delivered from slavery and darkness.

It is a mistake, when our God is doing something that doesn’t make sense, not to be distracted by it and turn our attention away from the ordinary so that we can know more, like the Pharisees, who couldn’t see Jesus as the flame of the Lord.

It is a mistake, when our God is doing something amazing, to set up a tent around it and launch a series of meetings celebrating it and showing it to all who we can draw, like Peter wanted to on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured.

It is a mistake, when our God is answering our groanings for His presence, to fail to listen to His declarations about our abilities and our destinies, which He wants to empower beyond our weaknesses, like Judas, when Jesus prophesied to him that one day he would rule over a tribe of Israel.

He stirs us with needs of our own and of those around us that break our hearts. He stirs us with heartbroken prayers. When we pray them until we can no longer bear to cry, He trusts us to become the answers to them.