A Barefoot Man’s SurrenderSample

Pay attention

When Moses came closer to the burning bush, an angel of the Lord spoke to him from within the bush: “Moses, Moses!” and Moses responded, “Here I am.” This was no ordinary encounter. It was a special, personal appearance of God to an aging exile working as a shepherd—and the purpose of the “visit” was to lead this shepherd into a new “shepherding” role. God had chosen Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and into the land He promised to them hundreds of years before. By drawing closer to the bush, Moses was drawing closer to the will of God. His attentiveness was yielding fruit. Wandering was becoming listening, and listening would become purpose.

This kind of deliberate, thoughtful inquiry goes against almost everything in our culture. Focused attention draws us close and enables us to see the miraculous.

As a high school graduate, I went on a summer missions trip to Montana. There I wrestled with God’s calling for the first of many times. I heard Him saying He wanted me in vocational ministry. I simply said no. Back and forth we went until I could finally pray, as Jesus did, “Lord, not my will but Yours be done.” When I did, I was comforted with a sense of peace, and the bush He lit began to burn with an even brighter flame. This moment of “Yes, Lord” was the beginning step of finding God’s will for my vocational life. Years later, I brought my wife and son to visit the little church where this all took place. “Right there is where Daddy first heard God calling him to ministry.” It built my faith to look back, and it planted a seed in my son’s heart to hear from God.

When Moses moved toward the bush, then God spoke. “When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’” (Exod. 3:4). Not until he went over to investigate this strange sight did God call him by name. Some of the “strange sights” in your life will be God. Some of them will just be strange sights, and nothing more. But when you walk toward the bush and begin to hear His voice, pay attention!

You can get Gregg Matte’s book by clicking on Finding God's Will.