Turning Aside

Exodus 3:2-4 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So 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.”

What if Moses never went back, or to, to the burning bush of God? What if he was too busy, too scared, too pre-occupied to even notice it? I mean, if you have read your Bible, much of the Bible hinges upon Moses approaching the burning bush. All of Israel’s story that plays out after captivity is a result of Moses following that tug God placed on his heart. God’s will for history would have been perfected in another way, but history’s account would have been different from Moses’ account as a result of not “turning aside” to investigate. What have you missed for any of those reasons……how has history changed because you did not turn aside? Will we ever know? Will we have missed out on incredible parts of the writing of history because for any reason we had any excuse to not slow down and approach God? Will we have missed out on an intimacy that was eternally rewarding to have been used by God to accomplish his will for humanity? Will those in our circle of influence be effected by our neglect? Will we ever know……

So many times the word of the Lord is not as loud and clear as the mystery of the burning bush. So many times the word of the Lord to us is in simple whispers within our spirit; a once felt clear concise word from the Lord only audible to those hearts seeking him. There was no doubt that Moses had a heart that sought the Lord. Do you remember Elijah, and how he sought the Lord? 1 Kings 19:11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” We want the burning bushes, the clear writings, the signs such as Elijah, but God many times is the voice within us that whispers, and we must have a heart tuned to seeking to hear it. We must have a heart that seeks him in prayer and his Word daily to hear it.

I will sadly admit, there is none more worldly busy that I. Anyone that knows me will testify that I never slow down, always occupied with work, or projects, or play. The only time of rest is my early mornings seeking the Lord daily before this world begins it’s distractions. The only way I can hear God’s whisper over Satan’s shouts is the time I spend preparing myself for that war each day. If you want to hear from God, you must first “turn aside” from all that seeks to keep you from hearing from God.