Exodus 3: 1-4

Andrew Poxon

A few nights ago many of you experienced the strongest recorded earthquake in the UK for 25 years, yet in spite of it measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, I slept through the whole thing. For many of you however this will be an event which you remember for years to come. Life is full of these moments, these attention grabbing, pulse elevating moments. But even the most ardent adrenaline junkie would agree that that is not the sum of our lives. How is it then, that for so many of us our walk with God has come to revolve around the spectacular?

I think back in my life and see my faith punctuated by these moments where I have experienced the all consuming presence of God and then contentedly drifted until being picked up by the next wave of excitement. And so it goes, faith, passion and our intimacy tossed around on a sea of worship songs and sermons. I am convinced most of us share this common experience. It is human nature to dwell on the glory of the past, the trouble begins however when we are content with the things of the past and happy to merely dream of a greater future, all the while neglecting the precious moment in front of us. Moses is a man who broke free of this trap, a Man whose life calls to us showing us something greater, something deeper.

'Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."' Exodus 3: 1-4

We have this amazing story that most of us were taught as kids, with this powerful, enduring image of a bush on fire but not being consumed. For me however the most astounding element is not the spectacle of the bush, it is the reason for it all.

God put on this show in order to attract the attention of Moses, and when he has it, that is when God speaks.

Think about that for a moment, when Almighty God, Creator of the universe gets this mans attention he speaks.

The word it uses when it says God "called" is 'Kaw-raw' which has the idea of someone accosting another person, this powerful, forceful, call which cannot be ignored.

These are the moments that stick, the times that many of us live for, but for Moses that was not the enough. This incredible life changing moment was just the beginning of a walk with God which lasted a lifetime. There were highs and lows, miracles and tragedies but his life was not merely about these moments. The miracles we hear about, teach about and even dream of experiencing a fraction of were not what motivated Moses. Constantly he was drawn back to a place where he heard the voice of God, sought the will and the presence of God, not living from spiritual peak to spiritual peak, but seeking his creator intimately and humbly. And this was Moses' reward,

'The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.' Exodus 33: 11

I am tired of waiting for the next camp, waiting for the next event holding out for the next worship service to come along that I might experience the Presence of my Father. I want to mature beyond needing an earth shattering display of God's power before I remember him.

God is waiting to speak right now, the question is, does he have your attention?