The Burning Bush

God's Word in Exodus tells us about Moses ascending Mount Sinai and there amidst the grandeur of His creation God speaks to Moses out of a burning bush. What must Moses have thought as he stood there in awe of the blaze before his eyes. Fire which provided light and warmth and clarity . . . and yet the bush was not consumed. I'm not sure about you but I have no doubt that I would have been freaked out . . . and yet, isn't it possible that God - even today - draws each of us to ascend our very own Mount Sinai only to find Him a blazed with Glory that offers our lives that same light and warmth and clarity!

The first day of a brand new year seems to be a perfect time to stop and ponder this thought. If we look into our burning bush we're likely to see the season of learning that the Lord has guided us through. Maybe the past year has brought with it for you a time of renewed intimacy with the Lord, a time of opening up your heart to Him and allowing His love to consume you. Or maybe your journey was to be one that veered off into a path that lead to a fiery furnace. No matter the climb, your journey's end brings with it the very same light and warmth and clarity that Moses experienced for as it is written in Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever." His desire to provide for us is no different than it was for Moses and His beloved people, Israel. His love is an everlasting love that brings each of us to Himself - then refines us with the fire that creates in us a glow that emits rays of His Light. A Light that we must, in turn, spread throughout our world.

Personally, my year has been consumed with the teaching of trust. I've walked through valleys in which old wounds have been reopened . . . only to then be cleansed and healed by the Living Water of life. Did I stumble and scrape the healing scab off of my heart from time to time? Admittedly, yes, but never was I in the dark for the bush blazed on before me - never consumed but offering me the radiant Light that I needed for my path. As pain surrounded me, there I found people who were used by God to shower me with the warmth of His love and before I knew it, clarity for my continued journey. And just as we learned in a recent teaching, that Light moves us from one connect-the-dot to another - one orderly dot at a time.

The healing well underway, I am thankful as my Burning Bush provided me with insight and the much needed hope of healing that is sure to come to the skin around my heart. A renewal of life - again and again - and with it I've seen His steadfast faithfulness . . . His tenderness and compassion. I've knelt in thanksgiving for His mercy and His grace . . . and I look with great assurance for the next connect-a-dot on to which I must step in my journey.

Father, I pray now for those who read this posting. I ask that You draw each of them to a clearing in which they are able to experience their very own Burning Bush. I pray that they will know the warmth of Your presence and see, with clarity, the greatness of Your love. I pray that Your Light will flow from within them and that they will seek nothing more in the coming new year than to be in Your perfect will . . . for I ask this now, Father, by the Power of Your incredible Son, Jesus, our Christ.
Amen and amen.
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