Moses was eighty years old and far from the palace where he grew up. For forty years he had kept sheep in the wilderness of Midian, a forgotten man with a painful past. Then one day, near Mount Horeb, he saw a bush on fire that did not burn up. From that bush, God spoke. This passage shows us that God has not forgotten His people or His promises. It also reminds us that He still calls ordinary people, in ordinary places, to join His work.
God Meets Us in the Ordinary
Moses was simply doing his job, leading his father-in-law’s flock to the far side of the desert (Exodus 3:1-5). Nothing about the day looked special. Yet when Moses turned aside to look at the strange sight, God called his name twice. Stephen later reminded Israel that this happened after forty long years in the wilderness (Acts 7:30). God was not late; He was preparing a servant. Then came a warning: “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” The God who draws near is still holy. We come to Him with joy, but also with reverence and godly fear, because our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28-29). Your kitchen, your office or your car can become holy ground when God speaks there.
Where in your normal daily routine this week will you deliberately turn aside for ten minutes to listen to God?
God Sees and Hears
Before God gave Moses a task, He opened His heart. “I have surely seen the affliction of my people,” He said. He had heard their cry and knew their sorrows, and He had come down to deliver them (Exodus 3:7-9). Israel had suffered in Egypt for generations and may have wondered if heaven was silent. It was not. God had been watching the whole time. The psalmist says the LORD hears when the righteous cry and is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:17-18). In Jesus, God came down in the fullest way. He is a High Priest who is touched with the feeling of our weakness, because He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Whatever you are carrying, God sees it, and He cares.
What hidden burden will you name honestly to God in prayer this week, trusting that He already sees it?
I AM Goes With You
When God said, “I will send thee unto Pharaoh,” Moses answered with a question: “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:10-14). God did not argue about Moses’ ability. Instead He answered, “Certainly I will be with thee.” When Moses asked for God’s name, the reply was “I AM THAT I AM.” God is not limited, not borrowed and not dependent on anyone. He simply is. Centuries later Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am,” claiming that same eternal name for Himself (John 8:58). This changes how we face our own calls. Our confidence does not come from our gifts or our past. As Paul wrote, our sufficiency is of God (2 Corinthians 3:5). The question is never “Who am I?” but “Who is with me?”
What task have you been avoiding because you feel unqualified, and what first step will you take on it this week?
Conclusion
At the burning bush, Moses learned that God meets us in ordinary places, that He sees the suffering of His people, and that His presence is enough for any assignment. The same I AM who spoke from the fire has now spoken to us through Jesus Christ. He is near, He is holy, and He goes with everyone He sends. Take off your shoes, so to speak, and listen. Then go where He sends you, leaning on Him.
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