CIRCUMSTANCES
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
EXODUS 3:4
Christians habitually seek God’s voice through prayer, through His Word, or through His messengers. Yet sometimes we fail to hear God speak through His activity, even though He’s working all around us. God encourages His people to watch for His activity so that they’ll know how they should respond and adjust their lives.
Moses was going through the routine of his day when he noticed an ordinary thing: a burning bush. Moses also noticed something extraordinary. Although the bush was burning, it wasn’t being consumed. Moses turned aside to look more closely.
When the Lord saw Moses turning aside from the routine of his day, He spoke to him. Everything God had been doing for 40 years in Moses’ life was culminating in this moment. Much of God’s redemptive plan waited for Moses to notice the uncommon in the midst of the common.
There will be times when, immersed in the ordinary details of life, you may be oblivious to something extraordinary that’s right next to you. You can be in the midst of a common moment, except this time the activity is filled with the presence of God. There may be times when, in the middle of your harried day, you notice something unusual. Your first reaction might be “I’m too tired to go aside to investigate this!” or “I’m not going to disrupt my life for this.” Yet in that moment you may have the opportunity for a unique encounter with God.
Often God doesn’t speak while you’re worshiping at church but in the ordinary experiences of life. Many of God’s most profound and history-changing encounters come during those ordinary experiences. When you see the unusual in the midst of the mundane, don’t continue business as usual. It may be that God has ordained that moment to be a life-changing time for you and those around you. To people with spiritual discernment, God’s activity is a significant revelation about His heart and His will.
If you’re sensitive to what God is doing around you, He will clearly speak to you through His activity. You’ll know that God is at work, because what you see will astound you, and human power and wisdom will not explain it. When you experience events that surpass your understanding and ability, it may be that God is communicating a critical message to you.
If you want to hear God’s voice, look around you to see what He’s doing. When you’re watching for God at work, what you see will reveal His character, and you’ll have a fresh understanding of how to respond to Him.
In what ways have you experienced God’s extraordinary presence?
When has God radically changed the direction of your life through a seemingly ordinary circumstance?
Consider your current circumstances. What unusual details should you investigate to learn whether God is making you aware of His activity?
What was the most meaningful statement or Scripture you read today?
Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response to God.
What does God want you to do in response to today’s study? [Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby (2014). Seven Realities for Experiencing God – Member Book. LifeWay Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]