Lord, here I am.

 

Exodus 3:1-6 “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”

This holy and sacred encounter begins as the angel of the Lord appears to Moses "in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush."  But note that it is only when Moses stops and turns aside to take a closer look that God calls to him by name, ‘Moses, Moses!’

When I married Jeff, part of his vows included Exodus 3.  

He said, "Last February (2018) I went on an 8-day silent retreat to seek the Lord and discern the Lord’s will and affirmation of my desire to marry you.  During that time, one of the passages I reflected on was Exodus 3 and the Lord’s call of Moses at the burning bush. In that story I saw our story – Just as with Moses, in a supernatural way, God caught my attention. As Moses turned aside to see and consider, I turned aside to see and consider. And when I did, the Lord met me.

Moses realized he was standing on holy ground... So did Jeff. Each and every encounter with God is holy and sacred and the place of that encounter becomes holy ground.

Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God. But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” Aurora Leigh, Book 7, 1857.  I wonder... Have I been content to sit around 'plucking blackberries' instead of encountering God? 

Lord, would You come afresh in Pentecostal fire and turn my little wilderness into holy ground.

Moses responds to God saying, "Here I am." In Hebrew, the word is, Hineni, meaning "I am ready to hear and obey, whatever You may ask of me." It is the response of someone who is fully present and yielded to God’s loving purpose.

Yielding Prayer - Lord, here I am. I want to be wholly available to you, surrendered to your purpose, trusting in your perfect plan. Teach me today to respond to your call with the eagerness of Moses.

Closing Prayer:  Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

A Note from Me:  If you have spent your precious time reading this, my prayer is that you will establish space for God and make time to listen and respond to the Holy Spirit’s voice in your life. To do this takes intentionality. As I mentioned, each and every encounter with God is holy. It is sacred.  If you are willing to open yourself to God’s voice, I guarantee He will, in one way or another meet you there.