“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3: 5

A reflection on Exodus 3

Moses had gone from being a prince in Egypt to a nameless shepherd in the desert, and there he encountered God personally. It was an extraordinary encounter on a very ordinary day in the life of a shepherd. God’s appearance was distinct, tangible, not a mere vision or dream – a burning bush that Moses could see and touch (but hopefully didn’t). It was in a literal place, Horeb, which later became the very place God brought the redeemed Israelites and gave Moses the Ten Commandments. This was the holy ground on which God first met Moses and then glorified his name after fulfilling everything he had promised to him on that first encounter.

Moses saw the burning bush and was so intrigued by it that he went closer to observe it. A bush that does not burn – what could it mean? The burning bush is a material depiction of God himself. He is so holy that he burns up life but that life does not die in his holiness because of his mercy. It seems ironic and paradoxical, but this is who God is and this is his love, both holy and merciful. The burning bush is also a foreshadow of the cross. The cross reveals the holiness of God that puts sin to death. But it also shows God’s mercy because with his holiness, he did not destroy sinners but his own Son. Is it so awesomely mysterious to you that it draws you near?

These days, months, and years, I have been experiencing this spiritual desert. I cannot make sense of many things and I am tempted to explain my situation and feelings only in human terms. But I believe that God, in his mysterious sovereignty and plan, used everything in my past to bring me to this present desert. It is vast, lonely, and difficult. I don’t see the borders of the desert, I don’t see an oasis nearby, but I see the burning bush. The cross of Jesus shines brightly in this valley. It’s no longer abstract, it is real – something my soul longs to touch and feel and see, this holy love of God in my day-to-day reality. Every time I feel the dysfunction of my family, the weight of my own sins, the unknown of the future, the confusion of my present environment, I crumble. When I burst out emotionally and reveal all that unbelief and frustration I have carried, I crumble, because it is as though I have failed – failed to have faith, failed to keep it together, failed to be strong, failed to be a testimony that “faith works”. But though it is so painful, I come again to the cross, the burning bush.

“Moses! Moses!” It was audible, clear, personal. “Here I am.” These are words of total surrender. In the presence of God, we cannot boast of what we’ve done – even our questions and complaints are quelled. Behold. In that, what can we say or do? We can simply acknowledge our presence in his and fall. Worship is the immediate and only response creation can have in the face of God. It’s a terror and a peace at the same time – terror realizing that we’ve been fighting someone so great and holy, but peace in surrender knowing that, by the mercy of God in Christ, we are on the same side. We can draw near. His holy mercy draws us near.

“Take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” The fact was, the place where Moses was standing was the desert ground – nothing special. But what made the place holy was the presence of God.

I look around and see toys everywhere, undone beds, dirty floors, food stains all over the kitchen. It’s a depiction of the chaos of my own heart and mind. I feel overwhelmed and not at all like the “spiritual wife/mom/home” I had envisioned. Where are you, God, in all this? He says, “I am here. You are standing on holy ground.” My home is holy ground. When I invite the presence of God into my lived reality, where I am standing becomes holy ground – my kitchen as I cook, the living room as I play with Dani, the bedroom as I change their dirty diapers. Right then and there, here and now, I can take off my sandals and pray believing that I am on holy ground. I can come to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and behold him – and worship. In that prostration, I can lay down all my questions and complaints, my fears and doubts, and gain his presence and promises. I feel his hand secure my most inner being and know that he knows me and loves me fully and, indeed, I can trust him.

God didn’t give Moses a pat on the back and a big hug. Actually, he was calling him to do something huge – to liberate the nation of Israel from the oppression of Egypt. But Moses could not accept that. It was too big, and he was too small. Two times, he questioned God’s choosing. And rightfully so. Who was he to think that he, a nameless shepherd and a runaway renegade, could challenge the power of Pharaoh? But God’s response to him was, “I will be with you….I AM WHO I AM.” Moses could do nothing by his own strength but he could do everything because God was with him. It is the presence and power of God himself that enables to do anything and everything he calls us to do. Who is this God? He is I AM. He is the Creator God who is alone sufficient. He does not need anything, he alone existed independent of all time and space and material things. He is ever present, eternal, and in whom all things find their being and purpose. He is the objective Truth, so much so that he can only be defined by himself and no other standard. This is God. And this God is my God.

God is calling me to stand before the greater Pharaoh, Satan, and command him to let my people go. Satan says to me, “But who are you? You’re just a broken sinner. You have no fruits to show, your life is a mess.” But I say, “I come in the authority of my I AM God. He is the Creator and Redeemer of my soul and he loves me. He is my Father and he will never leave me. He sent his Son to die for me and He rose again from the dead. The same power that rose him is now living in me. I come in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Let my people go.” Things didn’t happen right away for Moses, and perhaps I shouldn’t expect it for me also. It took some time, some plagues, and surely a lot of prayer and sanctification. But the breakthrough happened – Pharaoh let the Israelites go. Moses didn’t do it, it was God who moved. But Moses was faithful to show up. He trusted and obeyed.

I’ve been praying almost weekly with a friend of mine for some months now. We started praying together because we wanted to see God’s hand move in a real and tangible way THIS YEAR. It’s not that we didn’t want to wait, but we believe that God has the power to do what we ask and he indeed is a God of breakthrough. But many times, the burden of prayer seems so heavy, especially when I don’t see change, or things even seem to get worse. I feel too small and powerless. And that is true. But I am reminded that the I AM is with me on this holy ground. Whatever my situations looks like, He wants only that I trust and obey.

When we feel like Moses, tired in the desert, may we draw nearer to the burning bush of the cross. When we feel like Moses, incapable and doubtful, may we remember that God is with us and the ground on which we stand is holy ground. May we never stop showing up in prayer. The breakthrough will come. He is able, and he will do it. Amen.