Remember Martha? She lived a distracted life, and she didn’t even have e-mail. In fact, Martha had Jesus Himself right there in her house—and still she busied herself without ceasing. Two thousand years later, one of women’s primary conflicts is still distractions, and they have multiplied far beyond what Martha ever imagined.
On most days, the average woman will Google, Twitter, blog, Face Book, text message and/or leave a voice mail (or two). We juggle laundry, housework, our church commitments, friendships, and errands. We taxi our kids to various sports events, lessons and birthday parties. And if we work outside the home, we manage to do all these things after putting in eight hours on the job.
I don't know about you, but I long to be a woman of purpose. I believe that we must not allow distractions to prevent us from hearing God's voice.
Today as I read in the book of Exodus, I realized that the Lord calls each one of us to turn aside and focus on Him in the midst of distractions. Moses did this very thing when he turned to observe a burning bush in the desert. As he led a noisy herd of sheep through the wilderness, he chose to turn toward the Lord.
It can't be easy to herd sheep. The shepherd must watch this one, keep an eye on that one, and keep the entire herd moving in the right direction. But Moses made a decision and turned aside from it all. And that is when God spoke to him. That is when Moses discovered his God-given destiny.
"And Moses said, 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.' And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said..." Exodus 3: 3-4 (Amplified Bible)
When we choose to turn aside from the clamour and craziness of life to the One who burns for us with unrivaled love, God takes notice. This is when He speaks to us, revealing His plans and purpose for that particular time. This is a burning bush moment.
They key to experiencing burning bush moments is to possess an interruptible heart; one that longs to hear God - even in the midst of our busiest times. At the end of a visit with my sister in Michigan, I took her and her husband and little boy out to a "thank you" dinner. We sat in a packed sports restaurant with noisy fans watching the Detroit Lions on flat-screens all around us. When our dinner arrived God simply showed up--much to my surprise. I put down my fork and listened as He spoke to me about a situation that was of great concern. Yes, I was hungry. Yes, the restaurant was loud and distracting. Yes, my sister wondered why on earth I sat, eyes closed, with a steaming dinner plate before me. But I had a burning bush moment right there in the midst of it all.
How about you? Do you have an interruptible heart? This week determine to listen for God to speak amidst the distractions. You just might experience a burning bush moment.
16 comments:
What a great reminder...look for the burning bush.
It seem lately life has gotten so busy with,just stuff. I needed this, I need to take my shoes off and listen for God to speak!
love and hugs~Tammy
Wow, Julie, this is powerful!
I was just praying earlier today that I want to be more "open" to His voice. It seems like life is so busy. I'm so overwhelmed sometimes with my responsiblities and agendas that I seem to get into this "focus forward" rut so many times. I don't want to forget to look around for the blessings and opportunites for service that God has for me. I want to more often be "interruptable" as you said. I don't want to miss "burning bush moments."
Thank you so much for this beautifully written post. It was a great reminder and so applicable to my life. I appreciate that so much.
May God continue to bless you today and always!
How I long to be interrupted by Father God on a regular basis. Yes, I am willing. Come Lord Jesus and burn your truth in me! May it be obvious, filled with the passionate flames of your love, and hot enough to brand me out of my complacency!
peace, Julie. Hope all is well~elaine
I agree with you. We need to stop focusing on the outside world and look up and spend time with our Father...
Loved the way you broke it down.
Thank you.
Kelly
www.amazingsalvation.com
Sometimes I feel like I don't get any burning-bush moments. I need to slow it down.
Thanks for inspiring me.
Oh, how I do long for such moments with God! I want to be a woman of purpose, driven by passion and love for the Lord! Thank you so much for inspiring me this evening with such piercing, heartfelt words. Many blessing to you in Christ Jesus.
Andrea
will comment further on this later. Very good post Julie. I'm still praising about you and She Speaks this summer. I want to buy your book or Bible study. B
Julie,
You hit the nail on the head. This post is so well written and so filled with truth. Well done!
"The key to experiencing burning bush moments is to possess an interruptible heart." How true. Not sure I fair too well on that point.
Counting down the days... :-)
Love,
Kelli
Julie,
You continue to bless me with your writing.
Melanie@Bella~Mella
Amen to that.
Julie,
I enjoy your writing soooooo much. I pray I am always open to God. He gives me special moments all the time. I don't deserve them but He makes His Presence know to me. I believe some of my bushes are because of my call. I read this from Os Hillman at Today God Is First years ago and I believe it has merit. 'Your experiences with God are directly proportional to the depth and width of your calling.' Every burning bush is about His purpose. He is always looking for the heart devoted to Him to show Himself strong. 2 Chron 16:9
Had a few of those "knock me off my socks" moments these last couple of weeks. I can scarcely take it in when I feel God speaking so clearly to me. It is because I sat quietly instead of rushing through my life as I tend to do WAY TOO MUCH.
Thank you so much Julie for continuing to encourage me with your personal uplifting posts.
PS. My sweet friend Liana from "A Transformed Woman" is going to be at She Speaks this year too. You HAVE to meet her. You will LOVE her, and she is one of my mentors and a great writer...like you! She is living in Germany after 3 years in China. I will get to see her in CC in mid July and I'm so excited.
I have burning bush moments often. I love to be surprised by the greatness of God. His voice sweeps me away.
May God captivate us with more and more of HIS presence through the busy and the ordinary. He still speaks.
Hugs,
Tiffany
Unfortunately, us guys are just as bad.
It amazes me that with all the inventions that have been mass-produced over the last fifty years that were made to give us more free time, everything from dishwashers to microwaves to self-propelled lawnmowers, we're more "Martha" than we've ever been.
It does make such a difference when in the midst of all the chaos we still look for the Spirit's leading.
When I'm in tune with him throughout the day, in a constant running dialogue, His answers to my prayers and the way He relates to me often means more to me that the "big" answers and revelations.
Julie,
How I loved the words you used in this post, "uninterruptable heart." Today in worship the Lord spoke to me so clearly about some unkind words I spoke to my husband. I said them in jest just minutes before on the car ride to church, but I knew the moment they came out, they were hurtful. I did not apologize, I just laughed to keep the light-hearted humor going. How I did not want to admit that a part of me meant them...was making a point.
But the Lord was not going to let me get away with it. In the middle of worship, as I was singing, He spoke VERY CLEARLY that I had been disrespectful and had hurt my husband's spirit. I could not hide the truth behind my words from my Lord. So hard to admit, yet so powerful and healing to be confronted with my sin. It is hard to look inside and see the parts of us that disobey and disappoint God. Yet, when we do He blesses us. He is waiting to speak to us, to reveal them to enable us to become more like Him.
Thank you for reminding me of the kind of heart God desires in me. Thank you for blessing me today.
Wendy
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