It was just an ordinary day. I doubt Moses expected to see anything unusual out in the wilderness as he herded his father-in-laws sheep. For forty years the scenery and the task never changed. When he resided in Egypt, he lived in opulence as part of Pharaoh’s household. But all that reversed the day he killed an Egyptian who was beating one of the Hebrew slaves. That choice put him on the run and in hiding. No one would find him in the wilderness. Not until a divine encounter turned his ordinary upside down.
When Moses least expected it, God decided to show up in the form of a burning bush. Even though it was aflame, the fire didn’t consume it. He turned aside to see this unusual sight. God spoke to him from the burning bush only after Moses chose to walk toward it to look. When he diverted his attention from the ordinary task at hand, this set him on a path for a divine encounter.
So it is with you and me. Our days are full of ordinary tasks. We drive the same route to work and park in the same spot every morning. I doubt any of us are sheep herders, but our lives may be just as mundane. However, if we choose to pay attention, divine encounters await us in the most ordinary circumstances. Every day God is on the move to involve us in His work but we must have spiritual eyes to see and then respond. Otherwise, we will miss Him altogether.
Numerous times in my own life, I’ve been surprised in my ordinary by such divine encounters. In every case, I had to pause my plans to respond. I’m sure I’ve missed many opportunities to intersect with God’s work because I was either too busy or too self focused at the time. However, when I turned aside to focus on the beckoning burning bush, it changed the direction of my life forever.
Whether it be an unexpected conversation with an elderly man in a McDonald’s or a heartfelt message from a missionary on a Sunday morning long ago, I’m grateful for my holy interruptions. If you have eyes to see, God continues to set bushes afire offering new direction in your life. But are you willing like Moses to turn aside from your ordinary to experience this divine encounter? Take a look. You may never be the same.
