One day Moses was tending the flock of his
father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and
came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a
bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it
didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to
him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take
off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When
Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my
people in Egypt. I have heard their
cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of
the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious
land. It is a land flowing with milk and
honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites,
and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry
of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the
Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead
my people Israel out of Egypt.”
But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before
Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of
Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be
with you. And this is your sign that I
am the one who has sent you: When you
have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very
mountain.” But Moses protested,
“If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has
sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I am who i am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of
Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to
remember for all generations.
Exodus
3:1-15 (NLT)
My friend, Anna Murdock has written a magnificent
application of Moses’ story for those of us living in the 21st century. It’s titled, “Just When ...”
Just when the young
have their hectic schedules
finalized on their calendars …
Just when baby boomers
have their lives
carefully mapped out …
Just when retirees
think that they have
indeed retired …
Just when our lives
become routine and settled
…
and just when we think
that we will never
hear the voice of God,
IT HAPPENS.
Yes, just when we begin to believe
that we are who we are
and are who we will always be,
God calls our name,
not once, but twice …
commanding attention
as one might do
to a child who hasn’t listened.
Just when we put on
our well-worn bedroom slippers again,
comfortable and familiar,
we hear
“Take off your slippers.
You are standing on holy ground!”
Just when you call our names,
O Great I AM,
and as we lean upon you
to remove our slippers,
forgive our initial fears and excuses;
forgive us if the first words
from our mouths are
“B-b- but G-G-God …
I haven’t had a pedicure yet!”
Just when our names spoken
still echo in our hearts …
just when our feet are bared,
and our favorite slippers
are tossed aside,
may our prayers be
that when you call,
each of us might say,
“Here I am.”[1]
For You, Today…
When is the last time you entertained the
notion that here I am is a good response?
Are you at God’s disposal, Christian?
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