Distractions in Life

In a previous post I shared a passage of scripture from Exodus 3:1-4.

In this passage Moses is going about his day-to-day work when he notices something a bit unusual: a bush, on fire, burning, but not being consumed by the fire.

One of the most remarkable things about this passage of scripture is the beginning of verse four:

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

Exodus 3:4 (NIV)

The passage tells us that when God noticed Moses had gone over to look at the burning bush, then He called to him. It’s an interesting choice of words because it tells us is that God was waiting for Moses to notice Him.

Today’s lifestyle is one of busyness, and it’s not getting any slower. Day after day more and more information is being fed into our minds and day after day more and more is being asked of us. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed—it happens to all of us at some point.

Martin Luther is quoted as saying:

I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.

What an interesting concept. Luther was so busy he felt he had no choice but to pray more. He had so many things in his agenda he was left with no other recourse; if he wanted to complete them, he had to pray longer.

It’s backwards, yes, but it’s true. God has a way of redeeming what we surrender to Him. It works with money and it works with time.

Much like it took Moses a bit of time to recognize something miraculous was happening, allowing ourselves to get completely caught-up in our daily chores hinders us from seeing the thing(s) God is trying to do.

Much like Moses, God wants us to never forget that while there’s a time and place for the daily chores, there’s also a time and place to sit with Him¹ and have a conversation (which also includes listening).