God Doesn't Beat Around the Bush, He Burns It (Part 2)

Okay, so I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled with writing this post. I’ve thought about it off and on for the past two weeks and I just couldn’t seem to decide how to start it. I also wasn’t sure what to talk about, and what not to talk about. Like where do I even begin? I mean I could write a dissertation about the book of Exodus and God calling Moses to deliver the Israelites. But I sometimes forget that I’m not getting my PhD, I’m just writing another blog post. So I just sat down and started typing and this is what I came up with! Hope you guys enjoy it!

“God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.”

This is one of my favorite quotes and it really sums up the point I want to get across in this post. I’m going to pick up exactly where I left off in part 1, so if you haven’t read part 1, I suggest you go back and read it first. Let’s just start off with some scripture.

 

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

-Exodus 3:11

All of us are called by God to do something. We all have a purpose to serve while we’re here on Earth. Some people’s calling may seem more extreme than others. Some may seem more basic than others. But there’s no doubt that your purpose in life is extremely important, and it’s crucial to the kingdom of God.

A lot of times when God reveals his purpose for us, we tend to question Him. Just like Moses in verse 11, we often ask “God, who am I to complete this important purpose? Can’t you just find someone better equipped to do it?”

This is the beauty of it all. Nobody is equipped. There is not a person on this Earth that is absolutely, completely, 100% equipped for what God is going to call them to do. But it doesn’t matter, Because God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. Do you think I feel equipped to be a teacher? To educate and influence children in a way that only a few people can. HECK NO, I don’t feel equipped. But what I do know is that God will equip me through my education, and through His power to help me fulfill my purpose.

 

So if God has already revealed your calling to you, chances are, you probably had a mini freak out like Moses when you realized what it was. If God hasn’t revealed that to you yet, wait for it, you’re almost guaranteed to flip out just a little. The cool thing about it is, God doesn’t expect you to fulfill your purpose all on your own.

 

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

-Exodus 3:12

When Moses started to freak out and question God, God made sure to point out to him “I will be with you. . .” How cool is that? That the God of the entire universe, the God that created the ocean, and the moon, and the sun, He is with you. Like, all the time. He never leaves. It really blows my mind!

 

 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

-Exodus 3:13-14

In this passage of scripture Moses does what most of us tend to do when God speaks to us. He tries to make excuses and almost tries to outsmart God. Moses is basically like “Well say I go to the Israelites and tell them that you’ve sent me, and then they ask who you are. What do I do then God?” and then God replies with something that I kind of see as His way of saying “Did I stutter?”

God replies “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Vs. 14)

BOOM!

Like does anybody else kinda feel like God just got a little sassy with Moses? I love it!

Then God goes into this long spill about Him being the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, etc. (P.S. these verses are important, but this post is becoming longer than I intended, so if you want to check it out for yourself it’s Exodus 3: 15-22.)

So basically God is just shutting Moses and his lame excuses up.

But what does Moses do? He does what any normal human does and makes another excuse.

 

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

-Exodus 4:1-9

Okay, hang with me, I know that was a lot, but it’s pretty important to the story.

So Moses makes another excuse “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Vs. 1)

Here we see Moses making the typical, “But God, what will people think of me when I do/say that?” excuse.

NEWSFLASH!

God doesn’t call us to be comfortable!  He calls up to be bold! So what if nobody believes you! You’re still doing what God has asked of you!

So this time God decides to perform some miracles to knock some sense into Moses. God performs not one miracle, not two miracles, but THREE miracles to help convince Moses to go to the Israelites.

But again, Moses just isn’t having it. So Moses decides to make one more excuse to try to get himself out of it.

 

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

-Exodus 4:10-12

Like Moses is just standing by a talking, burning bush (nothing out of the ordinary, right?) And he’s making all of these excuses for why he’s not equipped for this job, THINKING he’s fooling God.

But again, God replies and He’s like “Really Moses? Like please look at who you’re talking to!”

 

The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? – Exodus 4:11

I just really love that! God’s like “Moses! Seriously? Are you forgetting who gave you your mouth?”

Then God promises in verse 12 that He will help Moses speak.

 

Now pause for a moment…and think about all of the times you’ve been like Moses. Think about how many times you felt God calling you to do something and you just kept making excuses. I’ve done it. Numerous times! How dare we? How dare we stand there and tell God that we cannot use our mouths (the mouth HE gave us) to tell someone about the good news. Like what makes us so entitled that we can tell the God of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE that we cannot do what He’s asked of us. Shame on us.

The thing about it though is, we’re human. And God knows when we’re going to make excuses. That’s why He’s prepared to help us. Just like God was preparing to help Moses speak, He’s preparing to help you.

Okay last passage of scripture, STAY WITH ME!

 

But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” 14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

-Exodus 4: 13-17

At this point in the story, I’m about ready to tell Moses he needs to get his life together. Like quit making excuses, you’re just wasting time. But then I have to remind myself how many times I’ve been like Moses. Fighting God, making excuses, telling Him I don’t want to do something.

Finally, God makes a final deal with Moses. God’s like “Look what about your brother Aaron? Isn’t he pretty good with words? Tell you what, I’ll let Aaron do the talking, but you’re still going to have to listen to me so you can tell him what to say, cool?”

Moses is cool with that plan and he heads back to Midian to tell His father-in-law that he has to go back to Egypt (Exodus 4: 18).

 

So finally, three excuses later, Moses agrees to do what God has asked of Him. (And if you know the rest of the story, you know Moses definitely ends up fulfilling his purpose).

Conclusion: So now you’re probably thinking “What in the world does Hannah want me to get out of this?”

I want you to know that:

1.      God has a specific purpose for your life.

2.      It’s normal to want to make excuses.

3.      Just because it’s normal, doesn’t mean you should.

4.      Trust that God will equip you with whatever you need to fulfill your purpose.

When God presents you with a mission, it can sometimes be hard to not make excuses. But God will not let you do it alone. He’ll be with you every step of the way. It might not always make it easier, but in the end, it will be worth it.

 

For those of you who are still with me, THANK YOU so much for reading. I hope you found some inspiration somewhere in this post. It ended up being a lot longer than I expected, but I hope you still enjoyed it. I hope you all will now be on the look out for your own “burning bush” and my prayer is that you will listen to whatever God has to say to you! Again, thanks for reading!

Until next time!

Remember, Jesus loves YOU!

Hannah ♥

 

God Doesn't Beat Around the Bush, He Burns It (Part 1)

First and foremost, I have to give my roommate, Brooklyn, credit for the title of this blog post.  I’m not going to go into the long explanation of how it came about, but just know she inspired this post.

Also, disclaimer: This post is a little long. I’m breaking it into two parts, but I still tend to be a little long winded when I get on a roll. Just try your best to stick with me to the end, and I promise it will be worth it.

 

If you’ve grown up in church, or if you have been in a church setting for any given amount of time, you’ve probably at least heard of the story of Moses and the burning bush.  But, just in case you haven’t, here it is:

 

     “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”4 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.”5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. “

Exodus 3:1-10

 

STOP! You people that are familiar with the story, I know what you’re thinking!

You’re thinking, “That’s not the end! Why did you stop there?” Well, all shall be revealed in part 2! Be patient!

Now, back to part 1!

    So just to give you a little background on Moses, he was born in a time when Pharaoh was ordering that all Hebrew baby boys be killed (Exodus 1:15-22). So when Moses’ mother gave birth to him, she hid him for three months to keep him from being killed. When she realized she could no longer keep him hidden, she put him in a basket and let him float down the Nile River. While Moses was floating down the river, who just so happen to be in the river bathing? You got it, Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter saw Moses in the basket and decided to basically adopt him (Exodus 2:1-10). Crazy huh? The man who ordered that all Hebrew baby boys be killed now has a Hebrew grandson. Anyway, we’re starting to get to the good part now. So Moses grew up Egyptian, even though he was really Hebrew. One day, when he was older, he was out where the Hebrew people were working and he saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew. Well you know what Moses is thinking, “Oh no he didn’t!” So what does he do? He kills the Egyptian, and hides the body before anyone could see. The next day he saw two Hebrews fighting and he was like “Dude, why are you beating up on your brother, man?” And the Hebrew guy was like “What are you going to do about it, Moses? You going to kill me like you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” PLOT TWIST Now Moses is like “Oh shoot, they must have seen me kill the Egyptian yesterday!” So then Pharaoh hears about it. He gets all mad and tries to kill Moses. But Moses does what any good criminal would do, and he flees to this place called Midian. In Midian, Moses gets married to this woman named Zipporah, whose father is the priest of Midian. (Exodus 2:11-21)

P.S. In case you didn’t catch on, all of that ^ was paraphrased by me :)

So this is where we pick up at Exodus 3:1-10. (Remember, the scripture from the beginning? Maybe you guys are still with me! Hang in there!)

So I’m sure you wondering, “Where are you going with all of this, Hannah?” Well, in the above scripture (Exodus 3:1-10), I have highlighted some particular parts that I really want to really hit on.

#1 Sometimes God uses strange ways to get our attention.

So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

– Exodus 3:3

If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for “signs” from God. I’m always on the lookout for things that I think God is pointing out to me. Most of the time I think too deeply about it, and I just end up confusing myself. What I got from this verse is, if God wants you to know something, He’s going to make sure to catch your attention. He might have to use something strange like a burning bush, but if He wants to speak with you, you’ll know it. You just have to pray that He will reveal things to you in His own time. Sometimes we pray for things, and expect an immediate answer. But most of the time that’s not the case. The Lord’s timing is perfect, and we have to learn to be patient and wait on Him.

 

#2 When God calls out to you, you need to answer Him.

God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

-Exodus 3:4

Just like God called out to Moses from the burning bush, when God wants to get our attention He calls out to us. It most likely won’t be from a burning bush, but God does speak to us through many different methods. It might be through His word (the Bible), it might be through a friend, or it might be through a song. God can really use anybody or anything to grab our attention and speak to us. Pretty cool, huh? Almost 3 years ago, when I made the decision to go on a mission trip to Honduras, I knew it wasn’t my decision. Because I would never decide to go to a dangerous foreign country all on my own. But I felt at peace about it and I knew it was God telling me to go. It wasn’t my decision, it was His. Now, as I start to prepare for my third trip to Honduras this summer, I’m forever thankful that I listened to God when He spoke to me.

If and when you feel like God is speaking to you, remember how Moses answered the Lord. He saw something strange (the burning bush), heard the Lord call out to him, and he answered. Never be afraid to answer the Lord’s call!

#3 God sees you struggling.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt...”

-Exodus 3:7

Have you ever had one of those days when everything just seems to be going wrong? You wake up 30 minutes late, you have no clean jeans because you forgot to do laundry (yoga pants it is!). Then, when you finally get ready to leave, your car won’t start. On top of all of that, when you get to work/school, you realize you forgot your lunch sitting on the counter. The same day you get your math test back just to see that you completely bombed it, or that project at work that was originally due in 2 weeks, yeah, the due date has been bumped up a week.

In the midst of all the chaos of life, sometimes it’s hard not to question God. “Why is all of this happening to me, God?” “Can’t I catch a break?” “Hello? God? Are you up there? Can you hear me?”

Life is the struggle sometimes, and it’s normal to ask all of these questions. But the good news is, YES, God does see you struggling! And the even better news is, YES, He is willing to help. But only in His time. The Israelites (Hebrew people, like Moses) had been enslaved by the Egyptians for a long time, and they continued to pray to God for deliverance. And God had a plan (more in Part 2). Even though that plan took a long time to come to fruition, it was the perfect plan. God sees our struggles and, like the Israelites, we have to continue praying and putting our faith in God, knowing He has a perfect plan for us. We also have to be patient in waiting, because God’s timetable is different from ours. Often times we pray and want immediate relief from our struggles. But sometimes we need to struggle in life, to remind us of the ONLY One who can deliver us from our struggles (Hint: God’s the only One.)

 

Okay, for those of you that are still with me, HANG ON! The end is near!

#4 (The final point) God has a job for you to do.

“So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. “

-Exodus 3:10

We are each born with a purpose. Before we are even born into the world, God has a special job for each and every one of us to do (Take a look at Psalm 139:13-16.) Some of us know our purpose before we even graduate high school, and then some of us are in our 40s or 50s before we truly figure it out. But whenever God does reveal your purpose to you, no matter how old you are, you have to listen to Him. God’s will for your life is non-negotiable. End of story. God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect (See Romans 12:2.) All we’re asked to do is live it. Because your purpose is specifically crafted for you, nobody else can do it. And if you don’t listen to the Lord when he reveals His will for your life, you’re not only hurting yourself, but you’re hurting the people that you were supposed to make a positive impact on through fulfilling your purpose. But most importantly, you’re hurting God. It breaks His heart when He’s worked out a perfect plan for your life, and then you deny Him.

Example:

Say your favorite teacher assigns you a project. Since you love this teacher so much, you want to make her happy. So you spend weeks staying up late, working on this project. You even spend half of your paycheck buying supplies for the project. When it’s done you step back and look at it and think “It’s perfect! Mrs. So-and-so will love it!” The day to turn in the project comes and you walk into Mrs. So-and-so’s classroom and present the project to her. Before you can even open your mouth to explain the project, she gives it one look and says “That’s horrible, I won’t accept that.” Talk about a stab in the heart. You spent many sleepless nights working on this project, you spent your own money buying the supplies, and she doesn’t even give it a chance. Not to mention she’s your favorite teacher. You love her and just wanted to make her happy, and she denied it.

This is how God feels when we deny his plan for us. He loves us so much and wants us to be happy with what He has prepared for us. But when it’s presented to us, we deny it without even giving Him a chance to explain.

Pretty cruel, huh?

 

Conclusion (AKA what you’ve all been waiting for):

 Even though it may feel like it sometimes, God doesn’t beat around the bush. God knows that you struggle and He hears you when you call out to Him. In His own time, He will burn the bush for you (Translation: he’ll give you a sign.) He’ll point out His perfect plan for your life, and He’ll be expecting you to answer Him. The best answer to give him is “Here I am.” Be willing to be used by God for a greater purpose. He won’t disappoint you, I promise!

 

So THANK YOU to those of you who have made it to the end. I hope you enjoyed it, and are glad that you held on till the end. Also, I apologize for any major grammatical errors. I’ve proof read this thing a million times, but as soon as I post it I just know I’ll find some horribly obvious error!

 Part 2 will be coming soon, and it should be much shorter (NO PROMISES! Haha!) Part 2 will discuss what to do when God calls us, and how we should react to it. 

Once again, thanks for reading!

Remember, Jesus loves YOU!

Hannah ♥

 

 

Choosing JOY!

Okay, I know what you’re thinking! No, I’m not writing a blog about High School Musical (even if it is my guilty pleasure Disney movie.)

Blogging is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’ve always expressed myself best through writing. So I’m going to give this a try, and we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve pondered for a long time on what my first blog should be about. I’ve written it, and re-written it, and written it again. Finally, it hit me. I just returned from chaperoning (I know, CHAPERONING, I’m getting old lol) a youth retreat with my church. While we were on the retreat my youth minister’s wife, Lindsay, shared her testimony. She talked about a time in her life when she just couldn’t seem to find any joy. She said the day that changed her life forever was the day she chose joy. This really hit me. Choosing joy. I thought about it for the rest of the night. But when I woke up the next morning I honestly had already forgotten about it. That was until last night (January 4^th). I was looking for a devotion to do on my Bible app, YouVersion. After browsing through several devotions, I just couldn’t seem to find one that appealed to me. Then I came across one called “One Word That Will Change Your Life.” The title sparked my interest, so I decided to take a look. To make a long story short, the devotion was a challenge to choose one word (whether it be a fruit of the spirit or an attribute of God) to focus your year around. Easy enough, right? I began to think about my word. The first word that came to my mind was faith. But it just didn’t seem to fit right. As I prayed about it, I remembered Lindsay’s testimony. Joy. That was it. That was my word. I began to look to my Bible to find verses that went with the word joy. These are a few that I found: 

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!” – Philippians 4:4 

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” – Proverbs 17:22

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” – John 15:11

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” – James 1:2-3

 

The last verse from James is my favorite “joy” verse. So I’m going to focus on it for just a second.

The word “joy” is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. James writes that we should consider it pure joy when we face trials. Sounds crazy right? How can anyone feel joyful when life just isn’t going the way we’ve planned? As I look back on 2014, I realize I didn’t have much joy in my life. 2014 didn’t go exactly like I had planned. And as I look back I realize that I handled it all wrong. Instead of seeking joy in the midst of trials, I just pouted and felt sorry for myself. No wonder things didn’t start to work out in my favor.

So as I thought about my word, I decided that in 2015 I will choose JOY. I will face every new challenge with a joyful heart, and I will know that God has great blessings in store for my future. This year holds a lot of uncertainty for me, but I will rest easy knowing God is certain about everything in my life.

In closing, I challenge you to choose your own word to focus 2015 around. Whether it be peace, or love, or faithfulness, choose a word that you can strive to live out in your daily life.

I’m excited to begin this new blogging journey, and I invite you to take the journey with me. My prayer is that God will use this blog to inspire others to be JOYFUL and seek Him. Happy 2015! I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store!

Remember, God loves YOU!

Until next time,

Hannah ♥