GOD IS WORKING

Aug 30, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Burning Bushes in the Backside of Nowhere

Moses spent forty years shepherding in obscurity before noticing the flaming bush. God often works in places we consider insignificant – the monotonous job, the strained relationship, the season of waiting. Holiness erupts not in grand stages but in forgotten corners where pride dies and attention awakens. What looks like a detour becomes the classroom where God prepares us. The wilderness is not abandonment but the staging ground for divine encounters. [20:01]

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. (Exodus 3:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life have you labeled a situation "ordinary" or "stuck"? How might God be inviting you to see that space as holy ground?

Day 2: God Hears Groans from the Wilderness

The Israelites’ cries under Egyptian bondage were not ignored. God heard their groans, remembered His covenant, and saw their pain. Our raw prayers – even complaints about car repairs or church hurts – reach His ears. Divine timing operates beyond our frustration, weaving our struggles into a redemption story. Forty years of silence for Moses became the soil for liberation. [10:27]

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel, and God knew. (Exodus 2:23-25, ESV)

Reflection: What groan or complaint have you hesitated to bring to God? How might His response surprise you?

Day 3: Orchestrating History from a Bunker

While Ronnie dodged rockets in Afghanistan and Carrie navigated church hurt in Mississippi, God arranged assignments. Divine work happens in deployment bunkers, lonely pews, and seasons when we feel forgotten. Like Moses’ mother hiding him in a basket, God uses even Satan’s schemes to advance His plans. Our present chaos is His canvas. [04:13]

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (John 5:17, ESV)

Reflection: When has a past disappointment or failure later revealed God’s hidden preparation? What current struggle might He be redeeming?

Day 4: Holy Ground in the Routine

A 28-year military career became a mission field. Diaper changes, spreadsheet jobs, and daily commutes transform when we stop fleeing and start noticing. Moses’ staff became a miracle tool; Ronnie’s back-row pew became a pulpit. God consecrates the mundane when we surrender our agendas. [22:10]

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. (2 Chronicles 16:9, ESV)

Reflection: What routine task or relationship have you dismissed as insignificant? How could approaching it as worship change your perspective?

Day 5: Turning Aside Before the Bush Burns Out

Moses almost missed his moment by keeping his head down. Burning bushes appear as recurring thoughts about a strained relationship, a nudge to serve, or a scripture that won’t leave you. Revelation comes when we interrupt the grind to investigate. God’s signs aren’t hidden – just overlooked by hurried hearts. [25:45]

And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 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.” (Exodus 3:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: What “burning bush” – a recurring thought, opportunity, or conviction – have you been walking past? What step will you take today to turn aside?

Sermon Summary

God is already at work long before anybody realizes it. John 5:17 puts it plain: the Father is working, and Christ is working right along with Him. Exodus 2 shows God hearing Israel’s groaning, remembering His covenant, seeing their suffering, and knowing exactly what was happening. God was preparing Moses while Israel was still in bondage, while Moses was hiding in Midian, and while nothing looked like it was moving.

Moses carries the story of a man who blew it, ran from the consequences, and settled on the backside of nowhere. God had protected him from Pharaoh, placed him in Pharaoh’s house, taught him the ways of Egypt, and then let forty years in the wilderness shape what Moses could never learn in the palace. Moses’ wilderness was not a detour. The wilderness was the classroom. God turned the place Moses likely wanted to escape into holy ground.

The burning bush shows that ordinary places become holy the moment God steps in. Moses was not looking for a calling while tending sheep for his father-in-law. God met him in a bush, in the routine, in the desert, in the very place that looked like the end of the road. God likewise works through deployments, church hurt, back rows, jobs, kitchens, strained relationships, sick children, and the things people wish would just go away. God can turn even failure into soil for His greatest work.

Moses received personal revelation only when he turned aside to look. The bush had been burning, but Moses had to stop, notice, and draw near. God is not hiding, yet hurried hearts can call His providence coincidence, accident, or bad timing. A repeated prompting, a need in the church, a hard relationship, or a desire that will not go away may be the bush God is using to get someone’s attention.

Prayer becomes the call for those who want to experience God rather than merely watch from a distance or wonder afterward what happened. Second Chronicles 7:14 places prayer, humility, repentance, and seeking God’s face before the promise of healing. Second Chronicles 16:9 pictures the eyes of the Lord running to and fro, looking for hearts completely toward Him. God does not ask people to bring Him their great ideas for a rubber stamp. God calls them to look for where He is already working, turn aside, and join Him there.

Key Takeaways

1. God works before people notice. [12:31] God was arranging Israel’s deliverance while their days still felt like slavery and groaning. Moses’ life had been preserved, trained, humbled, and positioned long before the burning bush appeared. Faith does not require every circumstance to make sense before trusting that God is at work. [12:31]
2. The wilderness can become a classroom. [21:18] Moses likely saw Midian as the place where his old life had died. God saw Midian as the place where self-reliance could be stripped away and a shepherd could be prepared to lead a nation. The places that feel like wasted years may become the ground where God forms endurance, humility, and dependence. [21:18]
3. Ordinary places can become holy ground. [22:32] God met Moses in a plain bush while he was doing plain work. God often puts His hand on kitchens, workplaces, back rows, difficult routines, and responsibilities that seem small. Holiness is not reserved for dramatic places because God’s presence changes the ground beneath ordinary feet. [22:32]
4. Turning aside makes room for revelation. [25:45] Moses did not hear his name called until he stopped and looked at what was different about the bush. God’s work can be missed when distraction, fear, resentment, or hurry keeps attention fixed elsewhere. A willing heart asks God to show the bush and then stays close enough to listen. [25:45]
5. Prayer aligns hearts with God’s work. [41:26] God does not need people to invent a plan and ask Him to bless it afterward. Prayer brings a heart out of competing desires and turns it completely toward the Father. God’s eyes still search for people who are praying, seeking, and ready to join Him where He is already working.

## [41:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:19] - Starting the Experiencing God Series
[04:13] - Church Hurt and God’s Hidden Work
[05:59] - Moses the Forgotten Fugitive
[08:13] - The Father Is Always Working
[09:05] - God Hears, Remembers, Sees, and Knows
[13:25] - God Orchestrates the Next Chapter
[19:21] - God Works in the Wilderness
[21:18] - The Wilderness Was the Classroom
[25:16] - Turning Aside to See the Bush
[29:33] - Joining God on Holy Ground
[31:58] - Prayer and Going All In
[36:42] - If My People Pray
[39:07] - Hearts Completely Toward God
[42:01] - God, Show Me the Bush

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Exodus 3:1–4
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 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.” [25:16]

John 5:17
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” [08:13]

Exodus 2:23–25
During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. [09:05]

2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. [36:42]

2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blam

Sermon Clips

45s

#HindsightSeesGod

“You see, God had been already working. The moment of personal revelation arrives when we stop and we choose to turn aside and look and see what God has already been doing. And the problem is we don't realize that it's been God. We think that it's coincidence. We think that it's an accident. We think that, you know, it just happened. And then in, you know, have you heard this saying that that hindsight is twenty twenty? We look back and we can see how God orchestrated everything just perfectly. And that's why we're here today.”

46s

#SeeGodInTheOrdinary

“So let's start praying today. Let's start praying this prayer. God, show me the bush. May maybe you don't know what it is. God, show me what that bush is so that that I will see you in the ordinary. God, show me what you're already doing so that I will come and join you in in because here's what here is what we try to do, is we try to go to God with, hey, God. I have this great ideal. Will you bless it? Put your rubber stamp on it, and then I will go out and conquer. That's not the way God works. God says, hey, Ronnie. When you're done thinking about all that stuff, come over here. I got a plan.”

40s

#TurnAndSeeGod

“I want you, if you're in a season of wondering, if you're in a season of of of wondering what God's doing in your life, I wanna help you see it. I want that that bush to be burning as brightly as it can be, that you see what's happening. Oh, it might be painful. It might be hurtful the season that you're in. It might you might be struggling with this. As matter of fact, you might be wondering, is God even there? My answer to you is yes, he is. Just because you don't see him doesn't mean he's not there. It means you're looking in the wrong direction.”

50s

#OrdinaryMomentsMatter

“For the mom that's wiping those runny noses, it could be the hallway or the kitchen. For the person who feels stuck in a routine that you've been in for years, think about this, Moses was in his routine for forty years. His burning bush was a bush. Yours may be a job. Yours may be something else. To the first time guest that's that's here at Crossroads Church, wondering if if you're you've even been noticed by God. I'm here to tell you that God has been working in your life. He's been working in just an ordinary decision like waking up today and going to church.”

30s

#DontMissGodsCall

“I bet you he's just not calling out to Ronnie. I bet your name could fit in there. And God's God's he's waiting for to get your attention. He's waiting for you to turn to the side. And and when you get over there, he's gonna show you. And it's probably not what you want. You know? It's probably not where you want. But I'm here to tell you that if it's what God wants, you'll never ever regret once you realize and recognize God working in your life.”

59s

#NoticeYourBurningBush

“I wonder how many days that that bush had been burning before Moses saw it. How many more days was it before Moses decided to check it out? How long did it take God to get Moses' attention with something that maybe we would have noticed right away? And so so I say this to to those of us here. Are you walking past your bush? Have you been walking past that bush every day? Maybe the bush God is trying to get your attention with is a strained relationship, a relationship you just wanna leave. You wanna write it off. You wanna move on. And God needs you to reengage in that relationship because that's where he's gonna show up. That's where he's going to do something incredible where you will have to say that only could this have happened with God.”

54s

#FailuresBecomeGodsSoil

“Do you realize this, that Moses' greatest failure became the soil for God's greatest work? His greatest failure was this, that he had to run from Egypt. Why? Because they the pharaoh wanted to kill him because he had killed another Egyptian. And that was where God was gonna use him forty years later. I I would argue that we ran from Biloxi. We ran we didn't wanna go to church down there. We didn't want to to do anything else down there. We were hurt. It was raw. And so we came up here and we found the biggest church and we hid in the back row.”

40s

#SlowDownAndSee

“But you see, this awareness requires our attention. It's not enough to recognize that God is is working in our life. We need to actually look and see what he's doing. You see, he's not hiding. For Moses, he made it a bright bush on fire that he he could see miles away. For Ronnie and Carrie, it was a desire to come back closer to home. But here's the problem. Sometimes we we're moving too fast past our bush, and we don't realize that it's God. We don't realize that it's different.”

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