The Burning Bush

Only through focus can you do world-class things,

no matter how capable you are.

…Bill Gates…

Today, many people have positioned themselves in a place that even if God tried to get their attention from all the distractions, His effort might not avail much. God longs for us to achieve our destinies and purpose on earth, but we seem to be too distracted to hear His voice and too busy to create time to send with Him. These distractions can come from either external or internal forces and most of the time, we are ignorant of them.

In a city like Lagos which is ranked as one of the most stressful cities in the world; expert reports reveal that factors like traffic, lack of infrastructure, pollution, mental health etc. can cause a high level of distraction for residents. However, we must remember the story of Moses and the burning bush experience. Many of us read the story like another bible story, but in there lies insightful knowledge about being receptive to God’s voice and allowing Him guide us towards fulfilling our purpose. Moses could have seen a burning bush and continued with what he was doing; there are 2 things that I’ll like to point out from this experience:

Look deeper, beyond the physical: sometimes we can be looking but not seeing. It takes a deeper sense of reasoning and a yearning desire to notice when God is seeking your attention. Exodus 3:2 tells us that “Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up”. Moses noticed that there was fire but the bush was not burning; and this gave made him curious to find out why.

Pay more attention to details: verse 3 of that chapter tells us that; “Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight–why the bush does not burn up”. When he paid more attention to the unusual situation, that’s when God spoke to him in verse 4 – “when the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses, Moses!”. Sometimes, we are too distracted to even see that there is an unusual thing happening around us, we seldom pay attention to details and therefore, miss out on many opportunities where God wants to work in our favour.

Frankly speaking, everyone has an excuse for being distracted but the question is – how justifiable are our excuses? We must realize that distractions are not the problem because there will always be a thousand things to distract you if you allow them; the problem is how we respond to the things that try to take our attention from God. Let me ask you these:

What does God have to do to get your attention?
Do you long for Him as much as He longs for you?
His desires for you are to walk & work with you to achieve your purpose; will you allow him get your attention?
What can separate you from the love of God?
Can you filter distractions from your life so you can see His signal?

Just the way you tune the radio to the frequency of the radio stations; your mind, body and soul has to be fine-tuned to heaven’s frequency so that you’re immediately connected. Imagine using a mobile phone with Wi-Fi connectivity but you always buy mobile data without knowing that you have access to unlimited internet. The problem is, the internet was always there but you never turned on the phone’s Wi-Fi feature so you couldn’t connect. This is exactly how it feels when God is seeking your attention to help you chart your course and live a purpose-driven life; a life with fulfilled dreams and accomplished goals.

Today, decide that you will not be distracted; you will look deeper and pay attention to the details God is showing you every day. Be more receptive and tune your heart to connect with God’s signal. I pray that as you focus on God this year, you will have the burning bush experience and achieve all your heart desires.

Written by Seyi Shoyemi