Burning Bush Moments

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush, he looked, and the bush was blazing yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight.” Exodus 3:2-3

How many times have you desired to have a burning bush experience? If only I could have a burning bush answer I would know what to do next. Making hard decisions is never easy. There is a lot of inner turmoil just trying to figure out what to do, or how to do it, or is it right for me? You look at multiple options and finally narrow it down to what you think is best. Then you may live with the “only if” questioning for days, months, or maybe years. Burning bush clarity sounds good, but there is a cost to burning bush experiences. Just ask Moses!

Burning bushes will necessitate worship

You can’t play religion if you want to get close to the burning bush. You can be curious and “turn aside and look.” You can ponder why the bush is not burned up but burning bushes require you to “remove the sandals from your feet.” Religious people tend to find the closest fire extinguisher to put out the fire. You worship at the burning bush because you know “the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Burning bushes create questions

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God welcomes questions, the more the better. Samuel asked “How can I go? Saul will kill me. (1 Samuel 16:2)   Mary asked, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) Peter knew enough to question, “By no means, LORD; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” (Acts 10:14) Questions will come at your burning bush but the Samuels of this world go, the Marys of this world obey, and the reluctant Peters follow.

Burning bushes destroy the edges of one’s comfort zone

“I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Comfort zone living is a lot easier. We can be content in the world we know and don’t have to push the edges. Yet somehow God doesn’t see our self-limitations. So, you don’t think you can speak? God has the answer, “Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.”

Burning bushes will burn away the undergrowth of yesterday’s failures

“When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.” You may have lived the high life, studied at the best schools, had an unlimited bank account but you blew it – a nasty divorce, a horrendous scandal, a horrible financial mistake. Guess what? God calls your name and gives you another job. God reminds you: I think I can handle your past!

Burning bushes do have a cost

“Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt.” Jethro felt the loneliness as his son-in-law, daughter, and grandsons left home. Hannah cried as she left little Samuel at the temple. Jesus’ body, torn to shreds and nailed to the cross, cried out in agony, “It is finished.” Yes, there is a cost when you respond to God’s call in your life, yet God never leaves you nor forsakes you.

Burning bushes do make a difference

“God wants to lead us. Not all the ways of humans are God’s leading. For a long time, we can walk our own paths. On those we are pawns of coincidence, whether they bring good luck or misfortune. Our own ways always lead in a circle back to ourselves. But when God leads our ways, they guide us to him. God’s ways guide us to God. God leads us through happiness and unhappiness always and only towards God. In this we recognize God’s ways.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We are encouraged with scripture’s burning bush examples of Moses leading a nation out of slavery, Esther saving her people from mass annihilation, David standing in front of a giant to unite a nation, and Jesus standing at the front of an empty tomb declaring victory over death!

God-inspired burning bushes fill the pages of history. Shoe cobbler William Carey’s passion for the unreached nations fueled the modern missionary movement. William Wilberforce’s faith awakened him from a life of leisure to champion justice for the enslaved. Preacher Martin Luther King, Jr burned with a dream for equality. Mother Teresa grieved for the burden of the poorest of the poor. Businessman Jeremiah Lanphier’s simple prayer, “Lord, what would you have me do?” led to the prayer revival of 1857, resulting in the Third Great Spiritual Awakening.

You may be facing a burning bush moment in your life – a time when God is trying to get your attention. Maybe your burning bush will not be as dramatic but you will have your own burning bush. Like Moses, you are drawn to the burning bush. You have to decide to run away or “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” (2 Cor 13:14)

God is great!