Unexpected Encounters
How does God speak to you?
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
For Moses, God showed His power in a burning bush that was not consumed.
God succeeded in getting Moses' attention because the vision was not natural. It was supernatural, beyond belief type of stuff.
What does God do today to get our attention?
Chances are He doesn't talk to us from a burning bush or a cloud of smoke. But just because He doesn't use supernatural means, that doesn't mean He isn't finding ways to speak to us.
Yesterday, a man came to the church where we rent space for our food distribution program, looking for a priest. Because I am a deacon, I was asked to go speak with him.
The man was deeply troubled spiritually, and I was totally unprepared for the encounter.
He told me that he heard voices that were trying to hurt him. Over the years, I have met people in our soup kitchen who told me of their strange situations. But this man seemed to be battling against something I had not previously encountered.
I offered to pray for him and with him, and afterwards, he was more at peace.
I truly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as we prayed, and I assured him that God was with him and in him.
There was no burning bush. We just stood there, in the rain and mist and encountered God.
Sometimes God comes to us wrapped up in someone's fears, anxieties, troubles and afflictions, and He asks us to be there for Him and with Him.
If we are open to receiving Him, we will experience an encounter that could change someone's life.
More to come...