God has asked, or will ask, all of us to lead people out of misery. In Exodus 3, God shows us that he taps strong leaders who have no idea they are leaders.
As Moses woke that morning, his primary goal was to find grazing land for the flock he was tending for his father-in-law, Jethro. He obviously worked hard, scouring far away parts of the desert for his flock’s nourishment. But God knew Moses was interrupt-able.
Indeed, Moses saw something unique that day. A bush that was burning but not being consumed. Exodus 3:2-4 tells us that Moses was interrupted and distracted from the task he set out to complete. He stopped his journey and took alternative action to investigate the burning bush.
In law, this is called “frolic and detour”. When an employee deviates from his path of working, his employer is sometimes no longer responsible for his employee’s actions – and resultant injuries. While modern-day employers generally disapprove of losing control over their employees during frolic and detour, Jethro must have been thrilled to find out that Moses detoured from his task. The outcome justified the detour.
In what seems to be a matter of minutes, Moses
- heard (v. 4),
- responded (v. 4),
- listened (v. 5),
- honored (v. 5),
- humbled (v. 6),
- believed (v. 6),
- questioned (v. 11),
- sought instruction (v. 13), and
- received promises (v. 12, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22).
In this interaction, God promised Moses that the Egyptians would release His people from their captivity, enslavement, abuse and oppression. It wouldn’t be a bloody war, at least no bloodshed caused by humans. There wouldn’t even be a need for man-incited revolution. In fact, once the Israelites tolerated a period of struggle alongside the Egyptians, the oppressors would actually pay the captives to leave.
Suppose Moses had been so sold out to his job that he decided he ought to ignore the burning bush with its resultant promises. Suppose we are too sold out to listen to the promises God makes us every day. Are people oppressed today? Do people struggle today? Can we possibly help them? Is God calling us to do so? Are we too focused on ourselves and the goals we set?
Is there a burning bush that we have ignored? Maybe this week our path will draw near it again.
Bene-action: Every week, let’s literally set a timer for 2 minutes in the midst of our day during which we open our eyes, ears and hands. In that time, let’s look at, listen to and feel our surroundings. Someday, we might notice a non-consuming fire in our presence that might just interrupt our path and change the world.
Common Sensitivity 