There is a sense in which Moses’ question is backward. He asks, “Who am I?” Notice how God turns things around. He says, “I AM WHO I AM,” (verse 14). Let’s go ahead and pluck the low-hanging fruit. It’s not about you; it’s all about God. 

If God wants to choose a runaway murderer and redeem his life thereby turning him into one of the leading men of all history, he can, he has, and he does. Just think what he could do with someone as good as you! (Wink, wink)

God says to Moses what he had said to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “I will be with you.” Here is the eternal secret to success that is really success. When God guides, if we follow, if we do what he says, success follows. It may not look like success at first, but the end result always leads where God intends. 

Think ahead about the ten plagues to come. Success did not arrive ultimately and finally until after the tenth and final plague. It was only then when Israel was released to leave Egypt. Even then, the story continued with some uncomfortable moments. However, what God said would happen happened (3:12; 19:1). 

What God wants for me is better than what I want for myself. His dreams for me are better than my dreams for myself. This was true for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It was true for Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene. It is true for me. It is true for you.

It appears Moses was content to live out his days shepherding sheep all alone in the middle of nowhere. He did not want to leave the wilderness. Flash forward to the end of his story and see how, indeed, his days came to a close in the wilderness. But that’s another story for another day.

The next time we encounter Moses after his death is on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13). Moses finally made it to the Promised Land. Verse 2 in that story is significant in the context of Exodus 3. “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.”

In Revelation 1:12-16, John describes his encounter with Jesus. Verse 16 says, “His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”

A college professor (not at one of our Baptist schools) told us how he saw God while listening to Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix. I’m not sure what he saw. He was in awe, but he was left unchanged. Anyone and everyone who had an encounter with God in the Bible was changed then, there, forever. 

If you have made peace with God and have received his gift of eternal life, the Spirit of God resides within you. What God said to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses is true for you today. He is with you. Jesus told the apostles and the other disciples in Acts 1:8 how the Spirit of God would come and how he would empower them. 

He did (Acts 2). He does.

What does God want for you today? 
Why not ask?
Why not pray?

—