The Place of In Between
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“Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up.’ 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 3:2b - 4 (NIV)
If there was ever a man familiar with the wilderness it was Moses! His life could be divided into three 40-year periods and two of those would be spent living in the wilderness
In the first 40 years, Moses trusted in himself thinking he was a somebody living in the palace of Pharoah of Egypt.
His second 40 years must have made him feel like a nobody losing all trust. Escaping as a fugitive from Pharoah for killing an Egyptian, Moses wanted to be invisible, feeling inadequate and insecure. He thought whatever plan God may have had for him was over!
In his last 40 years, from the burning bush on, he discovered God could use anybody and learned to trust God.
It was those first 40 years in the wilderness, hiding from Pharoah and alone with God, that prepared him for his calling. I call it “The Place of In Between.” He was in between what he had always thought he was destined to do and fulfilling that destiny. He was in between the promise of God and the purpose of God. Maybe that is where you are today. Are you living in the land of in between?
God wasn’t through with Moses when he escaped Egypt and God’s not through with you, even if like Moses you’ve made some mistakes that have landed you in a wilderness of wondering what’s next for me? It was in that place of in between that God would get Moses’ attention in a unique and unmistakable way. We know it as his “burning bush experience.” As he went to examine this strange sight of a bush on fire but not being consumed, God called to him from within the bush by name! “Moses! Moses!” And Moses responded, “Here I am.” In that moment, God told Moses His plan and gave him a wilderness survival guide that would radically transform his life.
Luke records what happened in the Book of Acts, "After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord's voice: 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.'” Acts 7:20-34 (NIV)
For Moses to move forward, out of the place of in between, he had to make two radical decisions:
First, he had to trust in God’s provision. “Moses answered, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?’ Then the LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A staff,’ he replied. The LORD said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.’ So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. ‘This,’ said the LORD, ‘is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you.’" Exodus 4:1-5 (NIV) In order to trust God’s provision, he had to release what he had been leaning on for those 40 years, the staff that was in his hand. With that staff, he had provided for himself and his family, but now it was time to give it and his future to God and trust God’s provision for his life.
But God gave Moses a survival guide in His Word. The Bible tells us, “Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.’ So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.” Exodus 4:19-20 (NIV)
Second Moses had to surrender to God’s purpose. “The LORD said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.’” Exodus 4:21 (NIV)
When Moses surrendered to God’s purpose, God began to work in His behalf to fulfill what He had called Moses to do. When he returned to Egypt the Bible says, “Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.” Exodus 4:29-31 (NIV)
If you’re in the place of in between, maybe these are two simple steps you can take in prayer right now to move forward as well: Affirm your trust in God’s provision for your life and surrender to His purpose.