Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

The Mystery of the Burning Bush


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"Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself" (Ephesians 1:9).

The life of Moses was an amazing one, due to his brave mother, who refused to give up her baby boy and hid him away from the king's decree.

For three months she was able to hide him then she placed him in God's hands. Not only did Moses live in the house of the pharaohs but he grew with the privilege that was given to the pharaohs' kids.

Moses never forgets what his mother taught him about who he is and where he was from. Moses was always longing to save his people from poverty. But God had a different plan for His people.

When Moses reached forty years old, he tried to save his people but ended up running away to the desert because he killed an Egyptian while defending a Jew.

There are two points the world cannot accept:

  1. A man, who thinks highly of himself, great family, great power, great education, and full of wisdom and knowledge. What is wrong with this picture? Why God does not accept him?

  2. A man, who is broken, runs away, lives as a shepherd for 40 years, wandering the valleys, lost all sort of hope to be anything or anyone. God considers him a good candidate to be a leader to His flock, why?

The burning bush represents God's miraculous appearance in the life of each one of us by the work of the Holy Spirit in each one who is willing to endure, invite God into his life, and follow His way.

The wisdom in the world contradicts the wisdom of God. In the world where we all sought the powerful, the knowledgeable, and the rich is the blessed but in the spiritual life our Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples, "Blessed are the poor in the spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:3-6).

If we take a quick glimpse into the life of Moses, we see the hand of God was with him since the day he was conceived. God protected him from death and lent a helping hand from his mother, his sister, and the daughter of Pharaoh.

God kept Moses safe and provided faith and knowledge about the people of God through his own mother. God provided him also with education and knowledge in Pharaoh's palace.

"And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed" (Exodus 3:2).

Believe it or not, God in His relationship with all of us is preparing our way to Him. It is up to each one of us to have the freewill to be with God and follow His way or to follow His own plan for us.

"Then Moses said, 'I will now turn aside and see this, great sight, why the bush does not burn.' So when God saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.'" (Exodus 3:3-4).

Thinking about how beautiful and gentle God's way to introduce Himself to each one of us makes my heart sing with joy. He will always respect our freewill and will never interfere with our choices, Moses choices to go close to the bush and listen to what God wants to say to him, and Moses choices to obey God's request.

We look and search for the truth and the intimate relationship and most of the time we fail to satisfy our heart because we are looking with our own effort. We are not seeking help from the one who can lead us to success.

Moses was a great example of the person who despite all his circumstances he never grumbled or went astray. Instead he kept faith in all those years. That is why God looked upon him and used him to lead others to salvation.

Great mystery requires great faith and endurance but as much as we endure, God gives much more than we even imagine. The joy of the heart and the peace of knowing He is in control cannot compare with anything in this world.

Be persistent in knowing God and have an intimate relationship with Him and then you will discover the great mystery for yourself. May the Lord grant us all the power of humility and endurance so we can walk in His way.

Written by
Nagwa Abdou


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