We are often closer to a mighty work of God than we realize. Sometimes we only need to turn half a degree to the right or left to discover that God has been at work beside us all along. Moses might never have known the amazing work God was preparing to accomplish if he had not turned aside. Moses was a busy man with numerous responsibilities. He had to singlehandedly monitor a flock of sheep that was prone to wander into danger or difficulty. Predators and thieves were lurking nearby. Locating adequate food and water on the arid slopes of Mount Horeb required his constant attention.
The sight of a burning bush, while interesting, might not have been enough to motivate Moses to turn aside from his multitudinous tasks. Moses could have satisfied himself by glancing at the shrub from a distance. He might have reasoned that being the solitary staff person on site prevented him from satisfying his idle curiosity. After forty years of leading sheep in the blazing Middle Eastern sun, Moses could have been excused if he had planted himself under the nearest shady tree and surveyed his surroundings from a comfortable vantage point. But Moses sensed that this was something he had to turn aside to see.
God could have shot forth a lightning bolt to garner Moses’ attention. God could have produced a clap of thunder that demanded Moses’ focus. Instead, God waited to see if Moses would turn aside. Was Moses so preoccupied with his daily work that he was oblivious to God’s activity in his workplace? It was only after Moses allowed God to interrupt his busy day that God spoke to him. The subsequent conversation changed Moses’ life.
You are, most likely, a busy person. People want your attention. Problems are constantly surfacing. Opportunities demand your response. Yet God may choose to interrupt your frenetic schedule at unexpected or unusual moments. At that point you must decide if your itinerary outweighs the burning bushes you occasionally pass by. Are you sensitive enough to God and His activity to recognize when He has intervened into your day and workplace? How many burning bushes have you raced past because you were late for an appointment?