4 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.”
This is such a wonderful verse. Moses has fled Egypt. He had sensed that God had a place for him, that his life was going to matter. He thought he was doing the right thing when he defended his fellow Israelite. And now he is on the back side of nowhere tending sheep. But God is not through with him. Moses sees a bush that is burning, but not being consumed by the fire. God does not speak to him. Moses could have walked away and never heard from God. But Moses thinks about the strangeness of this phenomenon. But God still does not speak to him. Then Moses turns to see the bush more closely. It is then that God speaks. This is so often how it is in our lives. God shows His power. We can see it in the world of nature, but God does not speak. We must do more than ponder what we are seeing. We must turn and seek, and then God speaks. If we turn, we are opening ourselves up to hear the voice of God. If God spoke before our turn, it would just sound like so much static. It is only after turning that God’s voice can become clear. So Moses turns and God sees that response and calls his name. I can’t remember the first time I heard God call my name, but I have heard it many times since then. And just because His voice has not been audible does not mean it is any less real. Real experiences can be things that we alone experience, things that science has a hard time measuring. I can bet science could detect the changes that take place in my physical body as a result of my sense of God’s presence. But I digress! Moses turns to find out more about this extraordinary bush and he hears a voice speak his name. At this point he does not know who is speaking, only that whoever it is, that person knows his name. He knows it is not a human voice because it comes from a bush that burns, but is not burned up. But that is not enough. It is not enough to hear God’s voice. Moses responds to the voice and says, “Here I am.” We must respond to the voice of God. It is not enough to see the bush, think about the bush, and walk closer to the bush. We must respond when God calls our name. Are you responding in surrender?
The Arnold Journey 