Do you ever feel like you’re just going through the motions in life? Maybe you had a bad experience and you found solace in routine. Maybe you moved away from the situation to start over and have been playing things safely ever since. Some people change careers, friends and who they are in order to not walk down that path again. It’s understandable, but at some point you have to get back to doing what you were made for and snap out of your hiding place.
That was the case with Moses too. He had discovered who he was and while trying to come to grips with it, made a costly mistake. When word got out, Moses ran from the situation. While running, he came to a well in Midian where he found his future wife and in laws. His career path changed from being in the Egyptian royal family to shepherd. He was running from where God had him and placed him as a child. He was playing it safe in his hiding place.
While he was content to be there, God wasn’t. He wasn’t fulfilling his purpose in the desert. He was running from it. While out tending the sheep in his mundane life, God met him in a way that got his attention. God appeared to Moses in a burning bush with a fire that didn’t consume it. There God called Moses to return to who he was created to be. Of course Moses gave every excuse he could think of to not go back. Life was easy and predictable in the routine he had found, but that’s not the kind of life God calls us to.
Moses decided to give up the mundane for the unpredictable. He chose to go with God’s way instead of his own. He left the security of his hiding place to trust in God’s provision. These were not easy choices to make. I imagine the fear and doubt that Moses must have gone through was overwhelming at times. It still took a lot of faith on his part to trust God and return to Egypt. It took guts to face his past and to willingly walk back. It was necessary because God had chosen him from the time he was a baby to set Israel free.
Now lets come back to you and me. Most of us can relate to some or all of this story. Some of us are running from God’s call on our lives. Some of us have taken refuge in the desert of life, hiding out as long as we can. All the while we know that our own burning bush experience is on it’s way. If you’re in that moment and you’re giving God push back, trust Him to lead you to the place only He can take you. If you’re on your way back to where you belong, take courage in knowing God is with you in your journey. Don’t give into fear.
God has a plan for your life that only you can fulfill. He’ll burn as many bushes as He needs to in order to get your attention. He’s not content to leave you in the desert hiding. He wants you back where you belong following the call He placed on your life. Today is the day to submit to that calling once again. It’s time to quit arguing and making excuses. Make the decision to get back to where He wants you. Leave a life of going through the motions behind and choose the adventure God has for you. You won’t regret it.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 