Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “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, for he was afraid to look at God. ~ Exodus 3:1-6
Like Isaiah, Moses replied to his epiphany with "Here I am."
His courage brought him to the great sight of a bush caught up in flames but not being consumed. Not many of us I think run "to" the fire. He was even brave enough to say "Here I am" when the fiery bush called to him.
But once he found out who it was that called him, fear took over.
Our epiphanies about God can often cause us fear. While God is certainly love, God is also power: and can call us to places that might cause us trepidation.
Moses would go on to try to get out of God's call to him, but he would eventually relent.
He would eventually go on to become the towering figure of the Hebrew scriptures.
God might take us to places that cause us to fear, but that fear gives us a chance to display courage. Courage, is afterall, not the absence of fear, but it is acting despite the fear.
Move me to courage, Lord, when I fear the places you would take me. Amen
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