Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during January 2021]

He was a refugee. Like so many who flee their homeland, he had left behind all that he had possessed. In his case he had been raised amongst the upper echelons of society, with wealth and great prospects, but all that was gone now. What had happened? One day he attempted to right an injustice and incurred the wrath of the established authorities. He had to flee for his life, and start again elsewhere.

Shortly afterwards, wandering through a strange country, he came across another injustice. A group of sisters were being bullied by some men so he intervened once more. The outcome was more successful, he was invited home for dinner. In due course he married one of the sisters, settled down and joined his new father-in-law’s business. Things were starting to look up again.

And then he saw the burning bush.
Curiosity got the better of him and he went for a closer look. Exodus 3 tells us what happened next:

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.’
‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ [Exodus 3 v4-5 NIVUK]

Another life changing experience. The rest of the book of Exodus tells us how Moses was sent back to Pharaoh, the arguments and disappointments that followed, and how he ultimately led the Israelites to the border of the Promised Land, an achievement with its own share of arguments and disappointments.

Did his upbringing in the royal court prepare Moses for facing Pharaoh? Did his experience with sheep prove helpful when leading the people? Who else would have been so uniquely prepared for the task?

Do you feel that so much of your life has been of limited value? Why was so much time spent in seemingly mundane tasks when you could have been doing something useful for the kingdom of God?

Surely it is not within our remit to decide what is ‘mundane’ in God’s greater plan. Perhaps your calling is to support someone else in their calling, as Aaron did for Moses. The janitor at NASA headquarters was an essential member of the team that put a man on the moon, and God’s plan eclipses that!

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