I WILL NOW TURN!

I WILL NOW TURN!

Ex 3:2-4

2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

          Alienated from both friend and foe, born to be a priest and raised to be a prince, Moses tends sheep in exile on the backside of the desert. He had settled into a daily frustration that he had come to call normal when something unusual and unexpected caught his eye. One of the desert scrubs was on fire. FOUR WORDS describe the turning point in Moses’ life.

 

I – Life change is first of all PERSONAL.

          Looking back over the unusual circumstances of his birth he might have reason to blame others for his lot in life. It was a miracle that he was alive at all. He was taken from his mother’s arms and placed in a basket covered with tar then placed in a river. Discovered and adopted by a princess he was then restored to his mother’s arms. Trained in the palaces of the Pharaoh he must have learned language and letters, culture and architecture and military strategy. What good were any of those things now that he was an 80-year-old shepherd? Yes, the beginning of a new life was very personal. I will turn!

 

WILL – Life change requires an act of the will!

          God sets the bush ablaze and Moses sees it clearly but nothing changes until there is a response of the WILL. Whatever the motivation, whether curiosity, boredom or deep longing; Moses made a decision. How many careers have been changed simply by someone saying “I will”?

 

NOW – Life change requires a starting point!

          How many are even now caught in the calms because they will not hoist their sails? How many reside in the doldrums because they will not begin a new challenge? How many fail to finish because they simply fail to begin? Now! Do it NOW! Postponement will only make a late decision even later. The Bible is clear that “Now is the accepted time.” (2 Cor. 6:2)

 

TURN – Life change requires a new direction!

Even a miserable existence becomes comfortably monotonous through lack of change. Change is the stuff of life. As it relates to sin, we call this change repentance. It means to turn from one direction to another. It is an about face.

          God becomes very active when we turn. Verse 4 says that when God saw that Moses turned aside He sprung into action. He spoke from the flames. He called Moses by name! Nothing was the same after this!

          What about you? Is your personal life a mess? Is your career path headed nowhere? Are you stuck in the doldrums? Pray these four words: “I WILL NOW TURN.”

Dear Lord, someone reading this devotional may be frozen with fear. Please guide them clearly and grant them courage.  AMEN