Alone for Renewal

It’s amazing what can happen when we get alone with Jesus. In Exodus 3, Moses is tending sheep all by himself in a lonely dessert. Suddenly, he sees a bush that is on fire, but not burnt up. So he decides to go get a closer look. When the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) sees that Moses has given Him his full attention, He calls to him. There seems to be a cause and effect relationship between Moses’ willingness to listen, and God’s willingness to speak. How often do we fill our days with countless tasks and forget to stop and meet with Jesus? He is waiting to speak to us! We have to be willing to stop for a moment and give Him our full attention. 

As soon as Moses realizes who he is talking to, His demeanor completely changes. He immediately becomes aware of his sinful condition before a holy and righteous God. He had been running from his sin for over 40 years. And finally, he had to come face to face with the reality of his brokenness. When we encounter Jesus and the reality of His holiness, we can’t help but come face to face with our broken condition. We can’t run from it. We have to face it head on and realize how desperately lost we are apart from Christ. Isaiah had this same encounter when he had a vision of the throne room in heaven (Isaiah 6). The woman caught in adultery had this experience when she was throne before Jesus’ feet in John 8. We can’t avoid it. We have to face it. 

But just when Moses is feeling at rock bottom and saying: “Who am I?” Jesus points him right back to the only thing that matters: The character of God! Jesus says: “I AM” two of the most powerful words in the entire Bible! When you don’t feel like you measure up, Jesus measures up for you. When you don’t feel adequate, He is. When you are broken and hopelessly lost, when you aren’t good enough for the task at hand, Jesus says: “I AM!” Just like Isaiah and the woman from John 8, Moses leaves an encounter with Jesus filled with a new purpose and calling. Something powerful happens when we get alone with Jesus. So what are you waiting for?