February 23

The Lesson Of The Thorn-bush

There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered. — Exod 3:2-4 BSB

Moses was an old man of eighty years! For forty years—the prime of his life—he had enjoyed court favor as a prince of Egypt, born in a slave-hut yet raised in a palace. According to Stephen, he was mighty in words and deeds, eloquent in speech, learned in the highest culture of his time, and skilled in both warfare and the building of pyramids or treasure-cities (Acts 7:22; Hebrews 11:24-27). But after those forty years, he spent another forty in exile, poverty, and heartache. Instead of Egypt’s riches, he tended another man’s sheep as the years passed in obscurity. He was a man disappointed and perplexed. In his own words, when a man’s life reaches eighty years, it is filled with labor and sorrow, and he welcomes the end (Psalm 90:10).

Then one afternoon, a common thornbush seemed to burst into flame. The fire was pure and clear, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses rose from his resting place to "see this great sight." Then he heard that inner voice, familiar to all pure and humble hearts, telling him that the fire was not ordinary but the sign of God’s presence.

We must not think that there was more of God in that bush than in the surrounding landscape. The bush simply focused His presence, which had always been there, as it is everywhere. God is as close to you as He was to Moses at that moment! Take this to heart, you who feel forlorn, downhearted, or helpless! Be of good cheer! God comes to you, even at the end of yourself. He wraps you in His love, saying: "I AM"—leaving you to fill in what you most need. “The mountains may depart, and the hills may be removed, but His kindness will never depart from you.”

Prayer

Some of us desperately need You, O God. We’ve been disappointed so many times by the things we thought would satisfy us. When we’re caught up in our daily routines, let Your presence be revealed to us. Help us understand that we’re not wandering aimlessly, but that You are guiding us. May every ordinary moment be filled with Your presence. Amen.