May I Have Your Attention? - One Year Devotions for Men
“Amazing!” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go over to see this.” - Exodus 3:3
The busier a man is, the more difficult it is to get his attention. The higher he climbs on the corporate ladder, the more hoops one must jump through to talk to him. When he is asked at the beginning of a flight to pay attention to the announcements concerning safety regulations, he, having heard it all before, continues to read the financial page of his paper. When he returns home and his teenage daughter tries to speak to him, he is too busy downloading the latest news about his stock portfolio and favorite sports teams. And once the ball game starts on TV, his wife knows it is useless to try to get him to listen to her concerns about a leaky faucet or a troubled child. Very often, in this world, when the question is, “May I have your attention?” the answer is “No.”
Although the pace of life was slower—much slower—in biblical times, it was not always easy to get people’s attention in those days, either. In particular, if God wanted to say something, he often resorted to doing something dramatic—like appearing to Moses in a bush that burned without burning up. “ ‘Amazing!’ Moses said to himself. ‘Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go over to see this’ ” (Exod. 3:3). Having gained Moses’ attention, the Lord then began to communicate to him what he wanted to say: that he was well aware of the predicament of his people in Egypt, that he had every intention of rescuing them, and that Moses was to spearhead the rescue!
Assuming that the Lord wants to communicate with modern man, and knowing that it is not always easy to get his attention, the question is, “How does the Lord get our attention today?” No one testifies to seeing burning bushes that are not burned up. But some of God’s men burn brightly without burning out. They exhibit unusual resources that enable them to stand tall under pressure, to stand firm through temptation, to exhibit cheerfulness in the face of trouble, and to exude equanimity in the teeth of disaster. They are inveterate encouragers, tireless supporters, and consistent examples to all. And they don’t burn out!
Seeing one of God’s brightly-shining men in action causes other men to stop and wonder. That is the time to explain that while there is nothing special about the bush that burns, there is something unusually special about the fire that burns within. The essence of the believer’s life is, as Paul explained, “I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Being a burning bush without being bushed (or burned) draws attention.
For Further Study: Exodus 3:1-15
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Men, Copyright ©2000 by Stuart Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Stuart Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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