2009 – Day 62.Mar. 4 – I’m Here

2009 – Day 62.Mar. 4 – I’m Here

Passage of the Day: Exodus 3: 4 [see highlighted verse in bold] ... 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the LORD saw that [Moses] turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And [Moses] said, “Here I am.”

My Journal for Today: When an Orthodox Jewish boy passes from childhood to manhood in his bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony, he declares before God and his Rabbi, “Hineini [!],” which is Hebrew and the same term that Moses responded when God called him (read above in Exodus 3, our highlighted verse 4. It is simply translated, “Here I am.” But to the Jew this means, as it did for Moses, much more than a simple acknowledgement of one’s presence. It is a declaration of one giving life over to the one who calls. It is a recognition of total surrender to a calling in one’s life.

You can also find this concept being echoed by others in the OT; … for example, by Abraham in Gen. 22: 11 when God called on this daddy to sacrifice his son. It is the surrender voiced by the Prophet Isaiah, found in Isaiah 6: 8, when God was calling Isaiah, saying, “Whom shall I send?” And in today’s verse, Moses, was doing his routine thing in the desert; and he turned aside to hear a bush on the mountain calling his name.

And what did Moses say? He said, “Hineini !” And in responding in this way, he was saying, in surrender, “I’m here; … show me the way!”

Have you ever had a moment when God called to you? Maybe it was in hearing a sermon that you felt was speaking only to you. Maybe it was a set of circumstances in your life which simply could not occur by chance and could not be ignored. Maybe it was life crashing down around your head, screaming, “Life’s not working for you, dude! Try in My way.” I had one of those moments on April 13, 1983, where God used the number “13” to change my life. It’s a bit of a long story; but please bare with me for a moment while I relive my “hineini” moment.

In those days I was searching for spiritual strength in my life, totally lost in myself and calling myself an “agnostic.” One morning, listening to a cassette tape a friend had loaned me on the way to work, I heard a story of a young quadriplegic who testified that Christ had given him the strength to live his life with purpose in the face of his paralyzed limbs. Then I got to work that morning and I had a pamphlet on my desk planted by my Christian secretary. On the cover was a Bible verse with it’s reference, “I can do all things through Christ, Who gives me the strength (Phil. 4: 13).” I took note of the Bible reference; and I looked up at my desk clock which was flashing the date – “4 – 13.” It was April, the 13th, and I realized that I was being called out to find the source of strength for which I was searching. Now, you need to realize that those two “13s” on that day really got my attention because I met my now wife on the 13th of a month. We were married 13th of a month. Our first child was born 13th of a month. My doctorate was awarded 13th of a month. And there had been others. So, when I saw the reference to Phil. 13 on April the 13th, somehow I knew in my heart, God was calling me out. And in my own way that morning, I said, “Hineini !” Well, it wasn’t in Hebrew, of course; but it was the same emotional response which Moses or Abraham or Isaiah responded to God’s calling. And on that morning in 1983, I went into surrender mode, giving my life over to the One Who was calling me to follow Him.

Really, when Moses cried out, “Hineini,” that’s all God needed to hear; because Moses was saying to God, “I’m here, Lord; show me the way; … I will follow.” And if you’ve followed my journaling for any time, you’ve no doubt heard me teach that Christ is continually calling His disciples out by saying to us, (as He did in Luke 9: 23) “Deny yourself, … and follow Me!” And all He needs to hear from us (emotionally) is “Hineini!”

As Pastor Swindoll so aptly puts it in his devotional for today, “[God’s] not impressed with you. He’s checking out your humility, … your sensitivity, … your availability. He’s looking for someone who will slow down long enough to check out a burning bush. And when He call, all He asks is a simple acknowledgement, …” And I think you know what that is.

Are you ready to say “Hineini” to God? I am …

My Prayer for Today: Hineini, Lord! Send me. Amen