Daily Devotional
God Meets Us in the Ordinary
Scripture
And Moses was a shepherd with the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west of the desert, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and there was the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not being consumed. And Moses said, “Let me turn aside and see this great sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him from the midst of the bush, and he said, “Moses, Moses.” And he said, “Here I am .” And he said, “You must not come near to here. Take off your sandals from on your feet, because the place on which you are standing, it is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face because he was afraid of looking at God. And Yahweh said, “Surely I have seen the misery of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry of distress because of their oppressors, for I know their sufferings. And I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from this land to a good and wide 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. And now, look, the cry of distress of the Israelites has come to me, and also I see the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you must bring my people, the Israelites, out from Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out from Egypt?” And he said, “Because I am with you, and this will be the sign for you that I myself have sent you: When you bring the people out from Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.”
Exodus 3:1–12
Reflection
Moses is tending sheep when he notices a bush burning without being consumed. The encounter takes place in the middle of an ordinary workday, far from the power centers of Egypt. God calls Moses by name, tells him to pay attention to holy ground, and reveals a concern for people suffering under oppression. The call that follows is not an invitation to private greatness; it is a summons to join God's work of liberation. We may expect guidance to arrive only in dramatic moments, but this story teaches us to become attentive where we already are. Work, errands, and repeated responsibilities can become places where we notice a neighbor's burden or hear a call to respond with compassion. Like Moses, we may feel inadequate. The promise of God's presence does not mean the task will be easy; it means we do not face it alone. Jesus' ministry continues this pattern of drawing near to people others ignore and confronting what diminishes life. Following him may begin with a small act of attention: listening without rushing, refusing to normalize injustice, or asking what support someone needs. Holiness is not escape from the world. It is meeting God in the world and allowing God's concern to redirect our ordinary steps.
Prayer
God who hears the cries of the oppressed, make us attentive to your presence in ordinary places. Give us humility to answer your call and courage to stand with those who need help.
Today's Question
Where might you be overlooking a need that God is inviting you to notice?