“The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
So Moses said, ‘I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up’.
When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am’” Exodus 3:2-4
A friend of mine asked recently how many burning bushes I had passed by in my life. I knew immediately what he was talking about. I didn’t want to know. There had been so many. There were many times in my life it was hard to breathe, the air quality so poor from the smoke of so many blazes, yet my pride kept me from responding the way Moses did.
Oh, I did the first part. I looked. I was aware. I knew something was out of place. My anxiety, my anger, my confusion or shame have all been accompanied by an unmistakable presence of an un-consumable fire. So often the evident deeds of my flesh kindled a blaze so pronounced the smoke was choking others. Oh, I looked. I was aware of the fire.
But far too often I didn’t do what Moses did next…he turned aside to see, to investigate. He looked, he turned aside and it was then he discovered the source of the fire and it was then that he heard from God. It required no more effort. He didn’t even have to approach.
“Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’” vs 5
The fire to a believer is no longer external, it’s internal. We have the presence of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We have been made holy ground. The fire is God’s presence and when we acknowledge His presence we always hear His voice. The Holy Spirit leads us, affirming us as we travelHis path, convicting us when we stray…our burning bush.
The world is a tough environment filled with noice, distraction, hurt, deceptions, temptations and demands; all designed to drown out God’s voice, mislead us, devour our time, tire us of life and ultimately destroy us. But God is always with us. When we experience the “burning bushes” in times of conviction,confusion, frustration, anger, temptation, fatigue and failure we need but turn and hear God speak. The Word is never silent when one has ears to hear.
I look back at the times I did turn and investigate. I always heard His voice. It was then, as it was with Moses, my life changed. A new direction, a new understanding of God, a new understanding of my true identity, a discovery of wrong beliefs that were the roots of my flesh all changed my life forever. I’m learning to pay attention to “burning bushes”, things out of place in my walk with God. I’ve learned to expect to hear His voice; but I must be quiet before Him. As with Elijah, His voice comes in a gentle breeze.