Today I want to talk about two unexpected events in Moses’s life. One was a glorious encounter with God that set him on the course for the last 40 years of his life. The other was a painful experience that equipped him to fulfill the mission given to him in the first encounter. In both cases the experience was unexpected. We will probably only have time for the first event today and deal with the second one next week.
We can all look back on our lives and see pivotal moments when life turned in an unexpected direction. When I left Dallas to attend a Bible School in Amarillo in 1972, I did not know in advance that I would meet the love of my life there. I did not know that I would marry Jeanie Seymour and we would raise a family together. A few years earlier I would have never guessed that turn of events.
When Jeanie and I traveled through Springfield, MO in 1988 on a trip to Iowa, I had no idea we would spend 30 years of our lives there. I had no idea that we would be asked to move to Springfield and pastor a church named Grace Chapel. It was God’s plan. He led us in that direction. But we did not know those events in advance.
As a child I had no idea that one day in April 1963 I would visit a little Pentecostal church and encounter Christ as my Lord and Savior. I did not know in advance I would have that encounter with God that would change the course of my life and destiny forever.
Reflect on your life and you will realize so much of what happened was above and beyond your control. It was not a result of your planning capacity. It was God’s plan for you unfolding in life. Many of the twists and turns in our lives came unexpectedly.
And so it is for our future. The apostle James flatly tells us in his epistle, “you do not know what will happen tomorrow” (4:14).i Yet we tend to presume that we do know. We tend to make plans with the assumption that we can bring them to pass. But the past should have taught us that the future is unpredictable. Events will occur that are beyond our control. We will handle the unexpected better if in advance we recognize the limitations of our own control and the reliability of God’s control. “Blessed are the flexible for they will not be bent out of shape.” We can make plans. Sometimes having a plan helps us work toward goals with discipline. But those plans must always be made prayerfully with a clear understanding they are subject to God’s revisions (Prov. 19:21).
The UNEXPECTED event Moses experienced at the burning bush was a glorious, life-changing encounter with God. And it came as a total surprise for Moses. Moses is tending his sheep like he had done every day for the last 40 years. Then God appeared to him in a burning bush and announced a new direction for his life. God is about to intervene in behalf of His people. He is about to judge Egypt and free His people from bondage. Out of the burning bush God said to Moses, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Ex. 3:7-10).ii
For 400 years Israel had suffered as slaves in Egypt. The time had now come for God’s intervention. Four hundred years is a long time for Israel to live under the oppression of Egypt. God could have intervened sooner, but it would not have served his purposes to do so. It was during those 400 years that Israel transformed from a family of 70 people to a nation of millions. It was in that furnace of affliction that God prepared those people to fulfill destiny. No significant intervention by Godfor 400 years. But now dramatic change would come because God has come down to deal with the matter.
As positive as the burning bush experience was, Moses struggled with the change that would come into his life. God was commissioning him to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel out of bondage. But all kinds of insecurities arose in Moses as he looked into that uncertain future. Exodus 3 records Moses’s struggles and God’s answers to his concerns. God chose Moses for the task. It was not Moses’s idea to leave Midian and take God’s word to Pharaoh. It was God’s idea and Moses needed to adapt his plan to God’s plan.
When God is about to do something, He involves His people in the process. He says to Moses, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry.” Those cries seemed to go unheard for many years. But now God in going to act. In His own timing, circumstances were about to change. “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.” We know from the story, there would be a process for God’s people to go through before all this is fulfilled. From this burning bush moment until the day Joshua crossed the Jordan and lead Israel into the Promise Land, there would be lots of ups and downs. But a new norm was taking shape.
Life was about to change dramatically for Moses. He is stepping into a whole new season in his life. For 40 years Moses was a prince in Egypt. He grew up in privilege and was trained in all the skills of the Egyptian culture. He was being groomed for worldly prominence. Then one event occurred that changed everything. When he killed the Egyptian, he had to flee into the desert. For the next 40 years he was a lowly shepherd in Midian. Now the burning bush encounter marks the end of that period and the beginning of something new for Moses.
It’s interesting how life can go on for years with little change. You get up each morning and do basically the same thing you did yesterday. It gets boring, yet there is comfort in the familiar routine. Then one day something happens and everything changes. For 40 years Moses has been getting up every day and tending sheep. When he awoke on the day of his burning bush experience, he had no idea how dramatically his life would change that day.
It is important for us to know this change was not orchestrated by Moses. It was initiated by God. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Ps. 37:23). God is ordering your steps just as He did in Moses’s life. We make decisions that affect our future. But ultimately God sets the timelines and direction of our lives. He sets the day and hour when a change begins. He determines how the change will take place. On the one hand we know from Scripture that our decisions matter. But on the other hand, we rest in the confidence that God is ultimately in charge.
Joseph’s life (like Moses) had strategic events that changed the course of his life. And those events were beyond Joseph’s control. The day his brothers sold him into slavery everything in his life changed. It was an event Joseph did not anticipate. It was a major turning point in Joseph’s life. Later when Potiphar’s wife lied about him and he was thrown into prison, Joseph’s life dramatically changed to no fault of his own. When the butler finally told Pharaoh about Joseph, another dramatic change came into his life. Do you see how these milestone events were beyond Joseph’s control? Do you see how Joseph’s response to these events affected his destiny? Do you see how God ultimately worked all things together for his good?iii
Why is it important to see those things in Joseph’s life? There is a similar pattern in your life. Your decisions matter. The way we respond to life’s events makes a difference, not only on the direction of our lives, but on the kind of people we become as well. However, we must trust the goodness and faithfulness of God to ultimately order our steps. We must not lean too heavily on our own understanding because there are always aspects of life we don’t fully understand. That’s why Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us to: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
When your world is shaken, remember two things; (1) God is ultimately in charge (2) He will take care of you in every circumstance. He loves you and is committed to you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.iv You are not on your own.v You abide under the shelter of His wings. No weapon formed against you will prosper. If it all depended on us, we might have cause to panic. But God is shepherding your life, and you can trust Him with the outcome.
God told Israel, “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isa. 43:1-2). You belong to the Lord. You are His own dear child. God does not promise there will be no waters. He does not promise there will be no fire. He promises in verse 2, “I will be with.” Therefore, the waters will not overflow you. The fire will not burn you. David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).
In Joseph’s life, in Moses’s life, in your life and my life, unexpected events happen that take us down a path we were not anticipating. It’s easier to deal with that if we know it is normal—if we understand God has not changed simply because circumstances have changed.
The world says there are only two things in life that are certain: death and taxes. But the Bible tells us the two things that are certain are death and judgment. Hebrews 9:27: “. . . it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Two things are certain for every human being. One is that these mortal lives will end. We don’t know when and we don’t know how, but we can be sure that life will not continue indefinitely as it is now. Secondly every person will give an account unto God for the deeds done in this body. Those two certainties should shape the way we live. Knowing these things, it should cause us to value eternal things and hold the things of this world very loosely (2 Pet. 3:11).
Jesus gave a story to illustrate the folly of planning around worldly things and assuming it will continue as is. In Luke 12:15-21 we read: “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’ 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' 18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’' 20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” The man assumed he could carry out his plan. He had little or no thought about God. His plan revolved around the possessions and pleasures of this world. Unexpected events come as earth-shaking shock for people who think that way.
James cautions us against the presumption that we can control the future events of life. He says to Christians, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15). Do you see the error that passage is correcting? A mindset that assumes I am in control is not a biblical mindset. It does not position us well for dealing with the unexpected. We must settle it in our hearts: God is in control of my life, and I can trust Him with that.
We learn to remain faithful during times when change is not happening. We learn to continue in welldoing even if it is all boring and we would like a change. But we also learn to trust God when the unexpected happens. We learn to follow the Lamb wherever he leads us. We learn to step out in obedience when we face an uncertain future. We learn to turn lose of the familiar so we can take hold of the unfamiliar future God has for us.
At the burning bush we see Moses’s struggle with embracing the new assignment God is giving him. His first response to God is recorded in Exodus 3:11, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He felt totally inadequate for the new frontier he was about to enter. God’s answer was not, “Moses you’re very capable and I know you’ll do fine.” That would have reinforced a self-reliance that was already paralyzing Moses. What was God’s answer for Moses’s feelings of inadequacy? Verse 12: “I will certainly be with you.” That’s what Moses must rely on if he is to navigate his new future. His strength is not in who he is. His strength is in the fact that Jehovah is with him. That’s where his reliance must be placed.
When God opens new doors for you, don’t say “I can’t do it.” Of course, you can’t do it. Without Him you can do nothing (John 15:5). But if He sends you, He goes with you. And you can do all things in Christ (Phil. 4:13). The point of confidence is not your own abilities, but His partnership with you. His strength is sufficient for what’s ahead. His strength is made perfect—is manifested and fulfills its purpose—when we recognize our own weakness and dependence on Him.vi He gives us assignments that are beyond us so we will depend on Him for the outcome.
We can see a lot of fear in Moses’s struggles at the burning bush.vii There is the fear of failure. He has had failure before when he had to flee Egypt. But that came because of self-reliance. Now he is to relay on the Lord instead of self. There is the fear of rejection. Exodus 3:13: “Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?’” God answers that fear by revealing Himself to Moses. God equips Moses with miracle-working power. God gives Moses everything he needs—and it is all found in the Lord being with him. When Moses brings up his inability to speak effectively, God even gives him Aaron as a support.
What I am pointing out here is the tendency in all of us to fear the unknown future.viii The more we are occupied with self—the more we are relying on our own abilities—the more fear we experience. Why? Because in truth, we are not adequate for the assignment. We must turn our faith and attention to the Lord and let Him be our adequacy. When God brings unexpected changes in your life can you say, “I will fear no evil; For You are with me” (Ps. 23:4)?
After his burning bush experience Moses went to his father-in-law (Jethro) and asked his blessing on the trip to Egypt.ix In that culture there was considerable respect given to a patriarch like Jethro. Moses is expressing that respect by going to him with his plans. Of course, Moses’s plans would significantly affect Jethro since Moses was taking Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah, and his grandsons with him. The lesson here is that we should show honor to whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7), even if we have a direct word from the Lord. Had Jethro opposed Moses going to Egypt, he still would have needed to go (Acts 5:29). But it was right for Moses to graciously confer with him. It’s always a good idea to be respectful and considerate toward others.
Ex 4:18: “So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, ‘Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.’ And Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’” There is an indication in the next verse that Moses may have been lingering there too long in his old comfort zone. For the Lord had to tell him again to go to Egypt. Exodus 4:19: “Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.’ 20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” So, Moses began his journey to Egypt with his wife and two sons with him.
Next week we will look at another unexpected event that occurs during that journey. I close with this question: Are you trusting God to direct your steps? Will you trust Him if unexpected events
happen beyond your control? Will you rest in His Sovereignty and Love for you? If He is ordering your steps, you’re on a safe path, even if you can’t see what’s around corner.
ENDNOTES:
i Cf. Deut. 29:29; 1 Cor. 13:9. Paul’s Damascus Road experience (Acts 9) was a total surprise to Paul and changed the course of his life..
ii All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
iii Cf. Rom. 8:29.
iv Cf. Heb. 13:5.
v Cf. Ps. 91; Zec. 2:8; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Eph. 4:30.
vi Cf. 2 Cor. 12:9.
vii “Fear is often our immediate response to uncertainty. There's nothing wrong with experiencing fear. They key is not to get stuck in it.” Gabrielle Bernstein, Gabrielle Bernstein - Fear is often our immediate response... (brainyquote.com).
viii “For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future.” Barbara Jordon, Barbara Jordan - For all of its uncertainty, we cannot... (brainyquote.com)
ix Before Moses would confront Pharaoh, he would have four encounters. There are lessons to be drawn from each encounter. First is his encounter with Jethro here. Second is an encounter with God in Ex. 4:24-26. Third is an encounter with Aaron in Ex. 4:27-28. Fourth is his encounter with the elders of Israel in Ex. 4:29-31.
