Nothing Wasted – Part 2
In this success-driven, pretty picture-posting world, it’s so easy to feel lost or insignificant. Just a slide of your finger across a small screen is all it takes to think you’ve missed out. By the time you add the list of your top failures that most of us allow to circulate through our minds, it’s no wonder we often settle for simply going through the motions.In my post on Tuesday, I mentioned the encounter that Moses had with the burning bush. The man who had everything he needed in the palace for the first 40 years of his life had spent his next 40 years as a lowly shepherd. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, God shows up. Consider these verses (Exodus 3:2-4) to get the complete picture:
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
It wasn’t God’s desire for Moses to become a murderer when he was living at the palace as Pharaoh’s grandson. These 40 years in the wilderness were certainly a detour, but God hadn’t forgotten Moses. In fact, God was getting ready to reveal an incredible plan that Moses was chosen to lead.Here’s what stood out to me as I was reading…The first encounter that Moses had was with an angel of the Lord. Moses was just minding his own business when the angel of the Lord appeared. Moses didn’t do a thing to make this happen. He was just out taking care of his father-in-law’s livestock. Yet Moses made one critical decision that turned this into a divine appointment: he didn’t walk by; he responded.God sent an angel ahead of Him. Yet as soon as He saw Moses’ willingness to turn aside, God Himself spoke. God initiated the invitation and as soon as Moses took one step forward to respond, God called him by name.Ladies, no matter our past successes or failures, God has a divine purpose for us. We don’t have to make a purpose up or create a cause. The one thing we must do is be willing to respond. This could’ve been a story that Moses went back and told the other shepherds about a fire hazard, but it became a God story as a result of Moses’ willingness to turn aside and consider what God wanted to say.Moses’ willingness to consider what God wanted to say turned the 12,000th walk in the desert into a divine encounter. The Lord would go on to declare that Moses was on holy ground and that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not only had Moses not been forgotten, but God had been preparing him to carry a burden that would allow an entire generation of Israelites to be set free.Don’t grow weary of your circumstances. Nothing is wasted. Don’t doubt that God can use your adversity to prepare your heart to accomplish His mission. May we be women who are always looking for God’s invitation. May we be faithful as we wait… and quick to respond.