The Call To Service

by T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead, England | Category: General | Oct 1987

Sometimes the call to service comes with startling suddenness. It was so with Moses. His workaday life was abruptly interrupted by an unexpected divine visitation. Yet all his life long Moses was being prepared by God for this very moment.

Burning Bush

As he turned aside to "see this great sight" - the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed - the voice came, the Voice of God. Solemn, unforgettable moment; he is alone with God in the desert. Barefooted he stands, hiding his face, awaiting the divine message. It comes with overwhelming power. From childhood days Moses knew of God's promise to his enslaved people. He now hears that the time of their emancipation has arrived; God has come down to deliver them. The plan is unfolded. It passes before the mind of Moses in all its magnitude. Not only were his brethren to be freed from their bondage, God had in view the transference of this vast company across the arid desert to the land of promise. None knew better than Moses the fearful hazards of such a journey.

The Palace Forsaken

It was forty years since Moses had exchanged the splendour of the palace for the solitude of the wilderness. The young man, mighty in his words

and works and instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, had grown old, keeping sheep. But the long years of the wilderness loneliness were an indispensable part of his training. Whether he knew it or not, the Master Workman had been preparing him for eminent service. Moses had looked towards life's end; God had in view a new beginning. Such are the ways of God.

Moses Hesitates

The dialogue which ensued between Moses and the Lord stands out as a remarkable revelation of the divine character. Moses' hesitation and reluctance were met with infinite patience and grace until he incurred divine anger by pressing them almost to the point of refusal. At length he yielded. The obscure shepherd became "Moses, the servant of the LORD." Like the burning bush, he too for the rest of his life would glow with holy fire, unconsumed. He would walk with God and speak with Him face to face.

In Hiding

God has His men in hiding today. In every age the work of God requires men and women trained and fitted by Him for the task of the moment. If such are holding back, hesitant and reluctant, as Moses in the day of divine visitation, God grant that they may yield and obey.

T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead, England | Oct 1987
General