Turn Aside
Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:2–6
“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. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt,” Exodus 3:2–3.
Turn Aside
Today Lord we pray for your protection and deliverance. We pray Lord God Almighty that the mantle of favour will be upon your people, that wherever we are seen it will be evident that we are your children indeed. King of kings we thank you because you have made us a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. Father God Almighty, you have made us a peculiar people. Let that peculiarity manifest in divine protection and divine favour in the name of Jesus. We thank you for the price you paid at Calvary, Lord, because you paid for our salvation in full, our debts are paid, and sickness, lack, poverty, and depression are finished. Everything that the enemy can bring on is finished. Father we thank you for the healing that you guaranteed by the stripes you endured. We glorify your holy name.
Father God we thank you for the reality of the old rugged cross that was set up at Calvary, the cross that connects us to God, that causes God to remember our groaning and connect it to the covenant of Calvary. The cross that brings deliverance to us, brings answers to our prayers, and turns our situation around for good. Today we pray that you will overturn the counsel of the enemy concerning our lives. We pray Lord God Almighty that you give us the grace to turn aside from the world and go into the Word, to turn away from the things of the world and embrace the things of the Word, in the name of Jesus.
In Exodus 3:2–6 we read that Moses saw a burning bush but he noticed that the bush was not consumed. It was an unusual sight. The key thing is in verse 3 when Moses said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight.” Once he made the decision to turn aside to see the great sight, the Lord saw that he turned aside to see. Today, we see the great works of God, the hand of God all around us; the miracles He does, the changes He works in people’s lives. We see the fire that is burning in the bush, but the bush is not burnt. That bush is our life. If you look at the trials, the challenges, the fires you have been through, you will see that the fires have increased, but the bush is not burnt. All of us have undeniable encounters and experiences with the fire that is sent to burn us but the bush is not consumed. Think of the near misses, the fires the enemy sent into your life, the car accidents that you have crawled out of, the sickness that was designed to kill you. The challenges, the trials, the slanders, all the things done against you, all the conspiracies of the enemy were fires sent into your life, but because of God, the bush did not burn. The lack, the insufficiencies, the challenges with your spouse, children, and other family members you have faced were fires sent into the bush of your life, but because you are reading this message we can confidently say the bush did not burn.
What has the reality that the fires are sent into your life but the bush does not burn cause you to do? Many of us escape accidents and situations and we think it is normal. We do not take time to turn aside to say, “Lord, you delivered me with this great deliverance, I want to see why the bush is not burnt.” When Moses turned aside to see why the bush was not consumed, God called unto him and released His purpose.
God released His call to leadership and because of that call Moses now understood why he had received all that deliverance. Moses now understood why the fire burned in his life as a baby and killed all the children but did not burn him. Moses’ life was spared when he escaped the fires that burned in Pharaoh’s palace.
All those figurative fires were invisible fires but now he was seeing a visible fire. Have the fires caused you to turn aside? I call on you today to determine to turn aside. Think of your life and all the fires that have been sent but did not burn you and then ask the Lord why He saved you. When He sees that you have turned aside, God will come and reveal your purpose to you. I pray today that you and I will thank God the fires have burnt in the bush of our lives but they did not consume us.
Prayer Points:
Father, give us the grace to turn aside and say, “Lord, I want to apprehend that for which I was apprehended. The fires burned in my life but I was not consumed.”
Have mercy on us, O Lord, and give us the grace to turn aside so that you will speak to us about our calling. Thank you Lord for the fires that burned the bush of our lives but we were not consumed. Holy Father, continue your lovingkindness and give us the grace to turn aside. Amen.
