Turn Aside

In Exodus 3 we are told of Moses’ experience with the burning bush.  Moses had been at a low point in life.  He was a murderer and a fugitive.  He had once been a prince.  Now he was taking are of a flock that wasn’t even his.  He was working for his father-in-law.  In order to pasture the sheep, he had to take them from place to place through the wilderness.  Perhaps he had to endure long stretches of time without seeing his wife due to his work.  It was probably a lonely existence.

Moses wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen that day.  He probably figured his life would go on like this until he died.  But God had other plans for him.  God took over an ordinary thorn bush and it turned into a burning bush that continued  burning without burning up.  God’s very Presence was right there in the bush as Moses was passing by.  In a sense, this was prophetic –  God was about to take Moses, an ordinary shepherd, and touch Him with His Presence in such a way that his life would never be the same again.

Moses turned aside from where he was going with his sheep.  He must have been shocked to hear God calling him from the bush!  He obeyed when God told him to take off his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground.  Moses had to take off his sandals because they contained the dust of where he had been.  God was calling him out of where he had been into a relationship in which he would be close to God and be exposed to God’s Holiness.

The place where an ordinary bush had grown was turned into a place of revelation and redemption.  God revealed Himself to Moses and called him to fulfill a mission that He had for him to do.  Moses had to turn aside from the past and allow God to propel him into his destiny.

Moses had his doubts when God told him that he was to go to Egypt and deliver the Israelites from slavery.  He said, “Who am I that I should do this?”  God assured him that He would be with him.  God revealed to him, “I AM WHO I AM.”  He revealed that He was there before anything else was and that He is present now. He was showing Moses that He is the eternal God who had the power to use Moses to bring redemption to His people.

Moses had to surrender his past and his life as it was.  Through his encounter with the Holy God on Holy Ground, he was changed from the inside out.  He obeyed God and continued to grow closer and closer to God throughout his life.  God used him mightily to deliver the Israelites from Pharoah and to lead them out of Egypt.

In the Old Testament times, people of God had encounters with God that happened from time to time and from place to place.  Since Jesus gave His life for us, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, He obtained the right for us to enter into His Presence at any time and in any place.  We don’t need a burning bush.  When we yield ourselves to Jesus, He fills us with the Holy Spirit, who burns His spiritual fire within us.  But we must take the time to turn aside and leave the dust of the past behind.   We must allow Him to propel us into our destinies also.

Think about this.  You are a burning bush.  The Presence of God lives in side you.  You don’t have to listen for words from a bush.  His Spirit and His Word speak directly to your spirit.  Any place that you are can be Holy Ground.  Just turn aside to worship Jesus and to be still and listen to His voice.  He will change you and call you to His purposes, just as He did with Moses.  Connect with God wherever you are.  The moment you quiet yourself and speak His name, He will answer.  Give Him ownership of your life, and the fire of the Holy Spirit will burn within you.