Turn Aside

God can go to some elaborate measures to get our attention sometimes. Just ask Moses. Moses was tending sheep when he saw a strange sight. A bush burning with fire but not being consumed with the fire. [Ex 3:2] informs us that the angel of the Lord appeared in that fire.

In verse 3 Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up."

Notice what happened next. [Ex 3:4] "When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the burning bush and said, "Moses, Moses."

God showed up but He did not speak until Moses turned aside to take a closer look. O that we would turn aside daily as the Lord reveals Himself and His plans. The phrase "turn aside" means to turn in, turn off, leave undone. 

Do you long to meet with God? Do you long to hear Him speak? Do you take the time to turn aside? What I mean is do you intentionally take the time to turn into Him to give Him your undivided attention. We turn into lots of places and turn to lists of things. Do we turn into God? I mean to sit still in His presence. To seek His face. To listen intently for His still small voice. Life altering encounters happen when we do this consistently.

When you turn into God you are turning away from lesser things. Sleep. Television. Video games. Social media. To turn aside also means turn off. There are so many distractions in our world to keep us from encountering God. I listed several of those things above. We have to turn off those distractions if we truly want to meet with Him and hear from Him.

For years I have not slept with an alarm clock. I wake up when the Lord beckons. Sometimes I get to sleep through an entire night. It is more common that I am awakened anywhere from 2:00-3:00 a.m. When I obey I've had encounters with Him I cannot put into words. He shows me things. He reveals His plans and direction. He gives wisdom. He lifts burdens. He guides my path. To receive these things I've had to be willing to turn off sleep. Sometimes I have to turn off fellowship with people as He beckons me away from family and friends to seek Him.

To turn aside also means to leave some things undone. When Moses turned aside to take a closer look at the burning bush that meant He was no longer watching over the sheep. That became a lesser priority. Sometimes turning aside means some lesser priorities get put on hold. Exercise. Television. Romps on social media. Surging the web. Watching the news.

Yesterday I had my day planned. I had to study for an upcoming sermon. He needed to run a few errands. Mail some letters. Send an important email. I also wanted to tackle a huge writing project that is on my own heart. First, I started the day with God. I recall praying that nothing I would do yesterday would be more important than my meeting with Him. I turned aside giving Him my full attention. It turned out He wanted my undivided attention for most of the day. I prayed. I did get the message studied. I never did write one sentence for my writing project.

When I did turn aside for as long as He wanted He chose to meet with me in an unusual way. Suffice it to say I never got around to the writing project. Turning aside to Him meant something got left undone. Meeting with Him was the greater priority.

I find it very interesting that God did not call out to Moses until He saw that Moses turned aside to see the burning bush. Moses paid attention. How many times does the Lord try to get our attention but we are too busy, too distracted, and too engrossed in lesser things to even notice. I urge you to take the time to turn aside. Some of the greatest adventures you can imagine await if you do consistently.