“I must turn aside and look.”    Ex 3:3 NRS

Moses was working his regular job as a shepherd when he walked past a burning bush, just like the ones he’d seen a hundred times before.

Only this time the bush was on fire with God’s presence. Moses said, “I must turn aside and look.” In that moment everything depended on his willingness to interrupt his daily routine and make time for God. He could have said, “I’m busy,” and kept on going. But he’d have missed his calling and the reason for his existence. He’d have missed knowing God and doing great things. But he didn’t, he “turned aside.” God wanted to begin a new nation, and Moses to lead it. The timing seemed strange. With God, it often does. Forty years ago Moses was young, the product of the finest education system in the world. He had powerful connections and high hopes. But now he was a nobody, a lowly shepherd in a forgotten desert, rejected by his people and a fugitive on the run. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Ex 3:11 NRS), Moses asked God. “Nobody knows me. I don’t speak too well. And my track record isn’t too good.” God said, “I know about your past, and it doesn’t matter. Your failure and inadequacies are no longer the ultimate truth about you. You are what you are, but you’re not yet what you will be – because I will be with you.”

Do you need direction for your life? Slow down, turn aside, listen to God. What He has to say is more important than anything else you’ll hear.