Called by Circumstance

When was Moses called to do God's work?  Was it when he saw the burning bush?  Or was it when he was found by Pharaoh's daughter?

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them . So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’ - Exodus 3:1-12

Moses was saved from death as a child by his sister and mother.  I wonder if God orchestrated that, or did it set in motion a sequence of events that set Moses up as the perfect candidate to free God's people?

We all have a free will to choose our destiny.  Sometimes, I believe our choices align us perfectly with God's desires for his people.  We choose to be in the right place at the right time.

So, God may call us when we are ready, or when we have put ourselves in the picture.

Moses may not have chosen to be a child of Pharaoh, but he still put himself in the picture when he stood up for God's people against the Egyptian.  He wound up killing him, putting him at odds with Pharaoh.

Maybe that's how we show God we are ready to work for Him, by making a stand for Him.

Of course, He may find us whether we are ready or not.  It is just how He works.  But we shouldn't be surprised if we are doing  His work and we hear His call.  He may be waiting for us.

More to come...