God Meets Us in the Ordinary

Exodus 3:4–5 (ESV)
“When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’”

Exodus 3 is one of the most familiar moments in Moses’ life.

Moses is keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro when he comes to Horeb, the mountain of God. This is not a palace scene. This is not Moses standing before Pharaoh. This is not a moment where Moses appears to be doing something extraordinary.

He is simply tending sheep.

But right there, in the ordinary rhythm of his life, God meets him.

Moses sees a bush that is burning, but it is not consumed. So he turns aside to see it. And when the Lord sees that Moses turns aside, God calls to him from the bush.

“Moses, Moses!”

That is such a powerful detail.

God does not just call a deliverer. He calls Moses by name. Before Moses knows the full assignment, before he understands the mission, before he has answers for his own insecurities, God knows exactly who he is.

And then God tells him to take off his sandals because the place where he is standing is holy ground.

What made the ground holy was not the dirt itself. It was the presence of God.

That matters for us.

Sometimes we think God only works in the obvious moments. We think He only speaks in the dramatic seasons, the church services, the big decisions, the emotional highs, or the moments that already feel spiritual. But Exodus 3 reminds us that God can meet us in the middle of ordinary obedience.

Moses was not looking for a burning bush that day. He was caring for sheep. He was living his life. He was doing what was in front of him.

And God met him there.

If I could wind back the clock over a decade ago, I remember walking through the living room in our townhouse back in Toano, Virginia. It was as ordinary of a place as you could imagine. It was the room I walked through every single day, multiple times a day. It was the place where I would sit and watch a football game. It was just a simple, regular, everyday room in our home.

But on one particular night, that ordinary room became something much more.

I remember pacing back and forth as the Lord was stirring my heart toward our next chapter. I remember worshiping the Lord out loud in that room, which was not something I typically did. I also remember being moved to tears, which, if you know me, is something that happens very, very rarely. In fact, those may have been the only tears I ever shed in that house.

There was such a deep sense that God was doing something in me, calling me forward, and preparing us for what was next. What had been an ordinary place became an absolute sanctuary. It was not because the room itself was special. It was because the presence of God met me there.

And what is amazing is that three years later, that same living room became the place where the very first prayer gathering for The Rise Church happened before we ever moved to Richmond.

That is how God works.

He can take a place you walk through every day and turn it into a place of calling. He can take a room that feels normal and make it sacred with His presence. He can take an ordinary moment and use it to begin preparing something you could not fully see yet.

The presence of God can make ordinary ground holy.

The kitchen can become holy ground. The car ride can become holy ground. The counseling conversation can become holy ground. The quiet moment of prayer can become holy ground. The place where you finally surrender can become holy ground. The season that feels hidden can become the place where God speaks your name and calls you forward.

And when God calls Moses, He also reveals something about Himself.

He says, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people.” He says He has heard their cry. He knows their sufferings. He has come down to deliver them.

That connects so deeply with what we saw in Exodus 2.

God heard. God remembered. God saw. God knew.

And now in Exodus 3, God acts.

But the way He chooses to act is surprising. He calls Moses. A man who had fled Egypt. A man living in Midian. A man who likely thought that chapter of his life was behind him. A man who immediately felt inadequate for the assignment.

Moses asks, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”

And God’s answer is not a long explanation of Moses’ qualifications. God simply says, “But I will be with you.”

That is the foundation of calling.

Not our confidence.

Not our résumé.

Not our ability to see the whole plan.

The presence of God.

Moses did not need to have every detail figured out before he obeyed. He did not need to feel fully ready before God could use him. He did not need to be impressive enough for Pharaoh. He needed to trust that the God who called him would go with him.

That is still true for us.

When God calls us to take a step of obedience, our first response may sound a lot like Moses. Who am I? Why me? What if I fail? What if they do not listen? What if I am not strong enough? What if I do not have what it takes?

But God’s answer is still enough.

“I will be with you.”

So today, pay attention to where God may be meeting you. Do not despise the ordinary places of your life. Do not assume hidden seasons are wasted seasons. Do not think your past disqualifies you from future obedience.

The God who met Moses in the wilderness still meets His people today.

And when He calls, He does not send us alone.

Prayer
Lord, thank You that You meet us in ordinary places and call us by name. Help us recognize Your presence in the middle of our daily lives. Give us faith to obey even when we feel inadequate, uncertain, or afraid. Remind us that our confidence is not in ourselves, but in the promise that You will be with us. In Jesus’ name, amen.