To say there is no God is foolish.  Only fools are so entrenched in the world around us that truth escapes our view and blocks our understanding of all that is God.  Only fools are led by the nose to places not of our choice but we follow to feel better about ourselves.  Only fools seek belonging by acceptance from anyone who will give us a nod of approval.  Only fools feed daily on diets of self-satisfaction, thinking we deserve all we can get, along with other lies evil dishes out to us. 

Only fools sustain our existence on the lies we tell ourselves that we can make it on our own in life—without interference from God—the one who we have declared does not exist!  Only fools slander and persecute others to feel better about ourselves with hopes of those around us will think more highly of us.  Only fools succumb to the enticement to think we are in charge and in control of ourselves and everything around us.  Only fools think we can handle whatever life throws at us.  Only fools think we are better than God.  Only fools think we can hide from God.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Then God appears in a way that gets our attention.  When we least expect it, God intervenes and steps into our everyday life. Then God does the impossible right in front of us.  We can’t help but notice.  Our present view of the world fades into the background, out of focus, so that we only see the holy Presence of God.  Everything about our foolish existence is challenged as God speaks wisdom into the impossible miraculous act of His power.  We listen to His Voice because the noises and voices of the world has been blocked out.  This is God. 

Moses has been living and working as a shepherd for his father-in-law, Jethro for a few years.  Moses was “on the run” to escape punishment from committing murder of an Egyptian who was beating on the Hebrew people of his birth who were slaves. At that time, he may have thought he was coming to their aid, defending them and maybe even himself of the bully.  But nevertheless, Moses took another man’s life and ran from the anger of Pharoah’s household. Moses ran from the God of his forefathers.  Moses was living a new “normal” as a shepherd living near the mountain of God, Horeb. 

Then God.

Exodus 3

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heardthem crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.

¹⁶ “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. ²⁰ So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

²¹ “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. ²² Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We cannot miss what God is saying to us today!  God speaks through whatever form it takes to get our attention and draw us to who He is. I don’t know about you, but God’s statements to Moses about who He and how He works clarifies and strengthens my resolved faith in God because of who He sent to rescue us—Jesus Christ, our Rescuer and Lord!

• I AM is the Name of God who was, is and always will be!
• I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 
• I have indeed seen.
• I have heard.
• I am concerned.
• I have come to rescue.
• I will be with you.  I will go before you. 
• I know the situation so I am sending you.
• I AM who I am.

God follows up who He is with what He will do.

• I have watched over you.
• I promise to bring you out of misery to a land that will provide all you need.
• I have a plan to set you free by my outstretched arms.
• You will not go empty-handed.  I will provide.

God’s plans for us contain a lot of surprises. God leads and provides the means to reach his goals for our good and His glory!  Depend on Him.  Live expectant, hope-filled lives!  God does not disappoint.  It is not in His nature.

The key question in life is not “How strong am I?” but rather “How strong is God?” When we focus on God’s power and strength, not ours, we see the world more closely from God’s perspective.  Pause to thank God for who He is and what has done, is doing and will do in our lives.  Let all of who God is occupy our minds today. For it is by His strength, power, and wisdom that Life becomes rich in love, joy, and peace because of His Love, Mercy and Grace generously given to us. 

Moses’ first lesson by God about God: “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”  Where God is, is holy.

God’s Presence is with us always. That was, is and always will be what He promised.  Can we camp on that thought for a minute?  God is truly with us, living deep within our souls, all because of the removal of our repented sins.  It is by Jesus’ sacrifice taking our punishment and paying in full what we deserved but did not pay that we are made holy.  So, where we are standing (or sitting) at this very moment is holy. 

It is God who makes all He has created holy; even the ground we walk on when we abide in Him, remain in Him, staying so close that to Him that we hear his faintest whisper and obey Him.

With these fifteen words God defines our roles. God is holy. We are made holy by Him.

Pause to pray and reflect:  What is my response to the holiness of God?

Lord,

You have provided many “burning bush” moments in my life that has redirected my thinking and behaviors over the years.  Thank you for these holy moments on my journey to be more and more like you, dear Jesus, and less like my sin nature.  Thank you for cleansing my heart and purifying my soul in those moments. There are not enough words to express my gratitude for your strength, power, and wisdom that is more than enough for living this life in preparation for the next on the holiest ground of all—with you always and forevermore.

In Jesus Name,  Amen