Take off your shoes! You are on Holy Ground

Moses thought he was forgotten.  Yes, he had been rescued out of the river as a baby, his life spared.  Not only was his life spared, he was given the advantage that comes with being in a privileged home.  Things looked so bright for Moses.  Then it all unraveled.  Trying to protect a Hebrew slave he killed an Egyptian soldier.  Out of fear of what would happen, he decided to run away, so far away that he would never be found.  You may be able to run from people, but you can’t ever run so far that you out run God!  Moses married, settled down, even got a decent job from his father-in-law tending sheep.  For forty years Moses hidden away on the backside of a wilderness tended some sheep.  A day, became a week, which  became a month, and it all became forty years.  After all of those years surely Moses thought God had forgotten him.  It would be natural to assume his life had been passed over by God.  He had his chance and he messed up, now he just lived out of sight in the obscure place where people go when their dreams die.

God visits Moses.  He shows up on what would have been just one more ordinary day.  It would be nice if special moments sent invitations or at least fired a warning shot.  Instead God shows up for all of us in the midst of ordinary everyday life.  God was not done with Moses, and God does what He does with all of us, He came to him!  He met Moses where Moses lived and worked, He did not make Moses come to Him.  God does set a bush on fire, to get his attention.  God does find ways to get our attention. Moses comes closer to the bush to get a look at such a strange occurrence, a bush on fire and yet the fire does not consume the bush!  God speaks to Moses and says, remove your sandals the place where you are standing in Holy!  I grew up referring to the Middle East or Palestine as the “Holy land.”  But technically the land was not Holy because the land was holy, it was holy because God made the choice and His presence was with them.  God tells Moses what He has in mind to do through Moses.  Moses struggles to believe that God is not done with him.

Where ever God shows up, the place is Holy.  Our God is a God of space and place.  And whatever place He visits, that space becomes Holy.  I long for the ability to always recognize the presence of the Lord and to acknowledge that His presence makes everything and every place holy.

Today, recognize that God is not done with you and He longs to be near you and to have you near to Him.  Are you aware that God cares about you and wants to break in to the ordinary events of your life and to remind you that He is the Holy God of power and even now at this moment He cares about you?  My prayer today is that when God comes near, I will always be aware of HIs presence.