ne day while Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, he led the flock across the desert and came to Sinai, the holy mountain. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of a bush.
Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up.
"This is strange," he thought. "Why isn¡¯t the bush burning up? I will go closer and see." When the Lord saw that Moses was coming closer, He called to him from the middle of the bush and said "Moses! Moses!" He answered, ¡°Yes, here I am.¡± God said, "Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are sanding on holy ground. I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, ¡°I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave-drivers.
I know all about their sufferings, and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile and in which the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perzzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites now live. I have indeed heard the cry of my people, and I see how the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of his country.¡± Exodus 3:1-10(GNB)

Articles, publications and panel discussions on the subject /topic of destiny have been gaining wider readership and audiences across the globe especially among the Christian Communities for the past decade. Some of the recent books on the subject are on the best sellers list. However I have found out that those who have great revelatory in sights and have dealt deeply on the subject within the biblical context, have always agreed on a common definition of destiny as God¡¯s original purpose, plan or intent for creating and placing one in the earth.

The devil knows this fact too well and that is why he will stop at nothing to making sure you miss the target or purpose of God for your life but thank God we are not ignorant of the devil¡¯s devices against our lives. One of the subtle, tactics he employs is to make you always listen to deceptive, conflicting, confusing and negative voices speaking out your daily life¡¯s circumstances and situations, and to be swayed by them. It is pertinent to note that only a very few people recognize the voice of destiny and heed the call early in life where as majority who wallow in their world characterized by problems, difficulties, wants, desires and man made goals would never hear the voice of destiny until God designs a burning bush scenario that will distract their attention from every other thing to Himself alone.

When God wants to get the attention of His Child to his destiny He sets the bush around him on fire. Anything God can shake, torch or regulate in other to get your attention is your burning bush.

From our text, we saw that Moses had a destiny in his life which was to deliver the Children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt and their bondage. For this purpose he was born and preserved for the appointed time. However, as events took their turn in his life as a young man he left Egypt and went to Midian where he married Jethro¡¯s daughter and got a new job.

Before He knew it, he had become a professional shepherd taking care of the flocks of Jethro his father in-law. The business thrived and he became a success but not in his destiny. You can professionalize and even ¡°Succeed¡± but if it is outside your destiny, you are a failure. There is no alternative to your destiny.

Moses might have felt happy, secured and settled with his new wife and new job just like most Christians who have run to their comfort zones outside God¡¯s original purpose for their lives might be feeling now and God would never get their attention to their destinies until the day He sets their bush on fire.

A day came when Moses went out for the usual and the unusual happened. He stumbled into a burning bush scenario and out of it he heard a voice that redirected the course of his life to his destiny.

There is a positive voice speaking out of every experience and encounter in your life but you can only hear it when like Moses, you care to see and understand that a bush is on fire around you and why it is burning, because before Moses saw that the bust was not consumed, he first all saw that a bush was burning. When you fail to see that you have a problem it will not be possible to learn any lesson out of it. Bush fire was a regular occurrence in the desert, so for Moses it was not a new sight but what caught his attention was that this kind of fire was burning and yet the forest was not consumed. When God sets the bush around you on fire it is not for destruction but for instruction. Don't be apathetic about anything happening around you or in your life, always stand aside like Moses and desire to see why it is happening; you will surely hear the voice of destiny.

Abraham heard the voice of destiny and obeyed. He fulfilled his destiny. Gen 12:1-4. Jeremiah heard the voice of destiny, he obeyed and fulfilled his destiny Jere 1:4-13. Isaiah heard the voice of destiny and he said ¡°here am I send me Isaiah 6:8 Jesus heard the voice of destiny and obeyed His father and came down to the earth and fulfilled it John 4:34. All the disciples of Jesus heard the voice of destiny when He said unto them come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men and they left all and followed Him Matt 4:18-22.

Paul the apostle just to mention but few heard the voice of destiny on his way to Damascus ¡°out of his own burning bush¡± and he yielded totally to it.

As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light fro the sky flashed round him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ¡°Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?¡± ¡°Who are you, Lord?¡± he asked. ¡°I am Jesus, whom you persecute,¡± the voice said. ¡°But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.¡± Acts 9:3-6.

You too can hear the voice of destiny today and need it. The first step to your destiny is to accept Jesus Christ as your Personal Lord and savior.
Rev Basil & Eby Ukaere