Key Text: Exodus 3:4-5 (KJV)
"And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
Have you ever felt lost in life? Like you're wandering in a wilderness, unsure of your purpose or direction? Many of us have experienced such moments, feeling disconnected from God and uncertain about our path. Today, we're going to explore a powerful story from the Bible that speaks to these very feelings and shows us how God can meet us in unexpected places and transform our lives.
Let's journey back in time to the land of Midian, where we find a man named Moses. Now, Moses wasn't always a shepherd in Midian. He was once a prince in Egypt, raised in Pharaoh's palace. But after making a terrible mistake, he fled to the wilderness, leaving behind everything he knew. For forty years, Moses lived a quiet life, tending sheep and probably thinking his days of greatness were long behind him.
But God had other plans.
One day, as Moses was going about his usual routine, something extraordinary happened. The Bible tells us in Exodus 3:2, "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."
Can you imagine the scene? Picture yourself in Moses' sandals. You're walking along, minding your own business, when suddenly you see a bush on fire. But this isn't just any fire. The bush is burning, yet it's not being destroyed. It's a sight that doesn't make any sense, something that goes against everything you know about how the world works.
What would you do? Would you run away in fear? Would you assume you were seeing things and ignore it? Moses did neither of these things. Instead, he chose to investigate. Exodus 3:3 tells us, "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."
This decision to "turn aside" and look closer at the unusual sight was a pivotal moment for Moses. It was in this moment of curiosity and openness that God chose to speak to him. The Bible says, "And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I" (Exodus 3:4).
Friends, this is a powerful lesson for us. God often speaks to us in unexpected ways and unexpected places. But are we paying attention? Are we willing to "turn aside" from our daily routines and look closer when something unusual catches our eye? Or are we too busy, too distracted, or too set in our ways to notice God's attempts to get our attention?
Now, let's look at what happens next. God says to Moses, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).
Why did God ask Moses to remove his shoes? In many cultures, removing one's shoes is a sign of respect and reverence. It's a way of acknowledging that you're in the presence of something or someone greater than yourself. By asking Moses to remove his shoes, God was teaching him an important lesson: when we encounter God, we're on holy ground.
But what does "holy ground" mean for us today? Is it just about physical places like churches or temples? No, it's much more than that. Holy ground is anywhere we encounter God. It could be in nature, like Moses did. It could be in a moment of prayer in your bedroom. It could be in an act of kindness towards a stranger. Whenever and wherever we experience God's presence, that place becomes holy ground.
The key is to recognize these moments and respond with reverence and openness, just as Moses did. When we do this, we open ourselves up to hearing God's voice and receiving His guidance for our lives.
