I love fall. I love the colors of the leaves changing right before my eyes, the crinkling noise underneath my feet as I walk, and the cool mountain breeze. I love to take it all in. The scenery of fall is something I will always stop to take notice of.

The beauty and change of fall reminds me of a man named Moses. Early on in his ministry he stopped one day and noticed a burning bush.

This was one of the remarkable moments in Moses’s life that changed the trajectory of his future. Long story short, God speaks to Moses through a bush caught on fire (but not consumed) which is kind of crazy if you think about it. God begins to share with Moses the vision he has for the people of Israel. The people of Israel had been enslaved by the Egyptians. People were being forced into labor and the people of Israel were miserable and cried out to God. They were powerless yet God took notice of them.

God’s plan was to have Moses help free these people from slavery and bring them into the promise land. It sounded simple, but the story isn’t that simple. It was a long road that stretched Moses. Later we find that Moses did indeed lead the people out of Israel and God intervened on the people’s behalf. Although, it wasn’t without a fight from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army.

This story gives me so much hope and encouragement. Let’s back up a moment and go back to the scene of Moses discovering the burning bush.

On that day, Moses was shepherding his father-in-law’s flock when he noticed this crazy sight.

“As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” -Exodus 3:2-4

Moses responds to God after he calls his name, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)

I love the imagery and the obedience behind this burning bush. The commentary in my She Reads truth bible says, “It was when Moses noticed- when he went over to look- that God spoke to him.”

This got me thinking, how is God wanting to speak to me? What are the burning bushes in my life that I need to take notice of? What is the the stirring in my heart, the people in my realm of influence, the needs in my city I could pay attention to?

That is a lot to take in but these are important questions we should ask ourselves from time to time.

What do you think would’ve happened if Moses ignored the burning bush? Would God have called another person to complete this task? Would Israel’s situation had stayed the same?

I don’t know if Moses would’ve experienced his God given potential if he wouldn’t have taken notice of the burning bush.

Oh, how this rings true in my life. I take notice of a need in my city, a dream placed in my heart yet I ignore them because I’m too scared.

Maybe you have seen a “burning bush” in your life yet fear gets in the way.

I love that before Moses obeys God he expresses to God that he should pick someone else for this job. Moses believed he wasn’t qualified for such a plan as this one. Moses had his reservations. He had his doubts. He felt so insecure about the whole thing. (Exodus 4:10-13)

I could imagine that he was also scared. Sometimes we all get scared when God is calling us to do something that is out of our comfort zone.

This summer our boys rode roller coasters for the first time and I clearly remember how our son, Makai expressed his fear to us right before his first ride (it had 2 back flips). I was nervous for him! My husband quickly responded to him with a phrase I’ll never forget,

“Sometimes it’s okay to be scared, but you can be brave and scared at the same time.”

What if we bravely said yes to things even if we were scared? What if we took notice of the burning bushes in our life and started saying yes to some of our God-given dreams and potential?

I bet we would experience obedience. I bet we would see radical change in our city like Moses did.

I think God is waiting for us to take notice of Him and his dreams for us. He wants to speak to us and then take action. And when we do we can be brave and scared at the same time.