Read: Exodus 3:1-6
Turn aside to see . . . (v. 3)
Moses’s call is all rather dramatic, but it’s also ordinary. It could have been any other day. Just a shepherd out tending his sheep. Moses is not looking for a dramatic encounter with God, but God breaks into the ordinary. Throughout the Scriptures, that’s generally God’s pattern of engagement. David is tending sheep, but then God makes him king. Peter, James, and John are fishing, but then Jesus invites them to follow him.
God makes the first move. We are not looking for it, but there it is. Something different. Maybe it’s not a talking burning bush, but if we pay attention to God’s work in our lives, God still breaks into the ordinary. Wilderness moments turn holy and the course of our lives bend towards God’s mission. Can you think of a moment like that in your life?
For me, one came at age 10 when I met Dr. Bill Brownson (then president of Words of Hope). I stood beside my dad as he waited to greet Bill after a sermon. Bill shook Dad’s hand, looked at me, and said in his normal friendly voice, “Someday, you’ll be a missionary.” It didn’t register at the time, but years later, as I paid attention to my life journey, that moment stood out as the first time God planted the seed of ministry in my heart.
Take a look at your life. Where do you see God showing up? “Turn aside to see.” The course of your life may take a turn.
As you pray, ask God to help you hear him when he calls.
Rev. Jon Opgenorth serves as president of Words of Hope. Previously, he served for 18 years as senior pastor at Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. In preparation for ministry, he received a BA in Religion from Northwestern College, and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary.
