For some of us, this has been a long season where we are feeling cut off and alone and this feeling is not necessarily associated with the lockdown or pandemic. Isolation can mean feeling separated, disliked, being set away from others, or it can be an actual physical withdrawal from friends and family.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Exodus 3:1
Moses must have felt isolated when he was at Mount Horeb. Horeb means the desert, and it was definitely Moses’ desert place. He probably felt alone and disillusioned, having been so long in that desert, with mostly sheep for company. He had fallen far from the palace and seemed so far removed from God’s promises. But God’s calling and gifts are irrevocable. God will fulfil what he has promised.
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Romans 11:29
So, Horeb became the place where God spoke to Moses from the flames, a place where he received instruction for the salvation of the nation and a place of the covenant promise. Horeb became a mighty place of encounter. In fact, throughout the Bible, we see times of isolation as a season of building character, developing dependence on God, gaining new vision, and learning the pathway (Moses walked that desert for forty years and then had to lead two million of his people through it again!).
God sometimes takes His time giving His revelation and direction for our own good. For those who want to be led by God, waiting on the Lord is not an option, it is a must-do. This time of isolation may be an opportunity to put away every distraction. And then, when we hear from the Lord, we become the “sent ones” sent not by man’s will but by the Great Sender, our God!
And so, I firmly believe, our season of isolation can become our place of great promise and unimaginable destinies. God will not give us more than we can handle. We only need to stay strong in the faith and hold on. God is coming!