5/5/2026

Day 5

When God Interrupts

Moses at the Burning Bush — Exodus 3:1–10

"And the angel of the LORD appeared to him 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.'" — Exodus 3:2–4 (ESV)

Moses was not looking for God that day. He was doing his ordinary work, tending the flock of his father-in-law in the wilderness of Sinai. Forty years had passed since his youthful fire, his failed attempt at delivering his people, and his flight into exile. He was not on a spiritual retreat. He was not fasting and seeking a prophetic word. He was doing his job, in the middle of an ordinary afternoon — and God appeared.

The burning bush was God's interruption of Moses' routine. But notice what happened next: Moses had to notice the bush before God spoke from it. "When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him." The call did not come until Moses turned. The divine voice was contingent on a human turning. God was not going to shout to a man who kept walking. He waited to see if Moses would pause.

This reveals something profound about the nature of divine listening. God speaks into attentiveness. He does not force His voice onto distracted hearts. He sends burning bushes — unexpected, unusual, attention-arresting moments of beauty or mystery or disruption — and He waits to see if we will pause long enough to wonder. The burning bush was burning before Moses saw it. How many burning bushes pass us by unnoticed because we are walking too quickly, too absorbed in our tasks, too committed to our agenda to turn aside?

The Hebrew word for "turn aside" (sur) suggests a deliberate deviation from one's path. Moses chose to leave his route. He chose to investigate what made no sense. This is the posture of the listening soul: a willingness to be interrupted, to leave the predictable path when something holy catches our eye. We do not manufacture these interruptions. But we can cultivate the readiness to respond when they come.

Moses' response to being called was "Here I am" — hineni in Hebrew. This is the same word Abraham used when God called him to the altar (Genesis 22:1), the same word Isaiah would use centuries later when the call for a messenger rang out (Isaiah 6:8). Hineni is not merely a declaration of physical presence. It is a declaration of total availability. It means: I am here. All of me. My attention is yours. My agenda is suspended. Speak.

From the burning bush, God spoke the great commission of the Old Testament: "I have seen the affliction of my people... I know their sufferings... Come, I will send you" (Exodus 3:7, 10). The listening moment was simultaneously the sending moment. Moses did not turn aside to receive a word for himself alone. He turned aside — and God gave him a world to transform. This is consistently how God works: He interrupts the ordinary, calls us to attention, and then speaks something larger than we ever imagined carrying.

Reflection:

Are there burning bushes in your life right now — unusual moments, unexpected stirrings, strange mercies — that God may be using to get your attention? What would it look like to turn aside and say hineni?

Prayer:

Lord, I do not want to walk past Your burning bushes. Open my eyes to the unusual, the holy, the interruptive moments where You are reaching toward me. I am here — all of me. Speak, Lord. I am listening and ready. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection:

Exodus 3:4 — "When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him."

Isaiah 55:3 — "Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live."

Hebrews 1:1–2 — "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke."

God speaks into attentiveness. He sends burning bushes. He waits to see who will turn aside.