The Burning Bush We Haven’t Seen

Joshua Crawford

Some of the best restaurants in New York City are secrets, hidden from the public.  Many of these award winning eateries don’t have a sign but have to be sought out.  If we hustle down the busy streets, lost in the metropolitan symphony of car horns and cell phones, we’ll miss these wonderful experiences entirely.  On our Christian walk, are we so preoccupied with to-do lists and appointments that we miss the great, hidden treasures God has for us?  

 In Exodus 3, while doing his job tending his father-in-law’s sheep, Moses saw the angel of the Lord in the burning bush.  “And Moses said, ‘I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.’” (v. 3)  Not unlike us, Moses was preoccupied with his daily responsibilities, but not too preoccupied to turn aside and investigate.  “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.’” (v. 4)  When Moses put down what he was doing, it was then that God spoke to him.  Have we ever been too busy to notice something God wanted to show us?

In 1 Kings 19, when Jezebel was set on killing him, Elijah the prophet was overcome with fear and hid inside a cave.  God told him, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” (v. 11)  Through verse 13, we read that a great wind came, then an earthquake, and even a fire, but none held the voice of the Lord.  “And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper.  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.  And behold, there came a voice to him and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’”  After this, in verses 15-18, God encourages Elijah with a great message and new mission.  Are our lives too consumed with constant noise and busyness to hear God’s low whisper?

Many complain, “Where is God in my life?”  Habakkuk asked God hard questions and remained on the lookout for God to answer him.  Habakkuk said, “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me…” (Habakkuk 2:1)  Are we at our watchpost, looking for God’s burning bush or small voice?  After all, we never know how God will choose to reveal Himself to us.

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” (Proverbs 25:2)  If God has concealed things, either in a burning bush or a small whisper, will we take time to search it out?  Maybe He’s in the person we’re avoiding or the task we’re putting off.  The Bible says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”  (Isaiah 55:6)  How many unnoticed burning bushes or ignored whispers must He send our way before we turn aside and seek His hidden treasure?