Out on the Wild Frontier: The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild: Seven Realities of God's Untamed Work
There is something stirring in the human heart that resonates with the idea of exploration. Leif Erikson, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama — these names conjure images of men who refused to stay within the borders of the known world. Something deep within them demanded that they move forward into the uncharted, the uncertain, the wild. And because they did, the entire course of human history shifted. What if God is extending that same invitation to you right now?
Throughout Scripture, God has consistently called ordinary people out of their comfort zones and into something far greater than they could have arranged for themselves. The story of Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3 is one of the most vivid pictures of this pattern. It is a story that is not just ancient history. It is a mirror held up to every one of us who has ever wondered whether God still calls people into something wild and transformative.
Here are seven realities of God's wild work that emerge from that story — and from the broader story of a God who refuses to be tame.
God Works While We Work
Moses was not doing anything extraordinary when God showed up. He was shepherding his father-in-law's flock — the same work he had done for forty years. Mundane. Routine. Ordinary. And yet, right in the middle of his Wednesday, God lit a bush on fire and spoke from it.
This is the first reality: God is always at work, even when we are simply doing our week. He does not take days off. He does not sit back and wait for us to get our act together. The question is not whether God is working around us. The question is whether we are paying attention. Moses had to turn aside from what he was doing to see the burning bush. How many burning bushes have we walked right past because our to-do list had our full attention?
God's Work Will Woo You
The first words God spoke to Moses were his name. Not a command. Not a task list. His name. That is deeply personal. God knows you. He knit you together, as Psalm 139, verses 13 and 14 remind us, and He pursues you with the same personal intimacy He extended to Moses.
But there is a condition to drawing close. God told Moses to remove his sandals because the ground was holy. When God calls you near, He will ask you to remove something — a habit, a distraction, a competing loyalty. He will not compete with your calendar or your comfort. Coming close to a holy God requires that we lay some things down.
God's Work Is With Him
Here is something worth pausing over: the Creator of the universe invites you to work alongside Him. In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9, the apostle Paul describes believers as co-laborers with God. Moses did not dream up the plan to deliver Israel. God had the plan. God had the power. God simply invited Moses to come along.
This is how God has always operated. He asked Noah to build. He asked Abraham to leave. He asked Joshua to march. He asked Nehemiah to build a wall. In every case, the invitation was the same: come with Me. And Moses was eighty years old when he received his invitation. If you think your best days of usefulness to God are behind you, the story of Moses has a word for you.
God's Work Is Well Spoken
When God speaks, there is no ambiguity about it. He told Moses exactly who He was, exactly what He had seen, exactly what He planned to do, and exactly what Moses' role would be. God's plan was clear, transparent, and grounded in His own character and promises.
That same clarity is available to us through Scripture. God's Word is the place where He speaks His plans. If you are wondering whether God is calling you to something, the starting point is always His Word. His call will never contradict it.
God's Work Will Make You Whimper and Whine
Here is where the story gets painfully relatable. After God laid out His entire plan with clarity and purpose, Moses' first response was, essentially, "But who am I?" He questioned his own worthiness, worried about whether people would believe him, and even complained that he was a poor public speaker. He made every excuse he could think of.
And we do the same thing. God speaks, and we immediately begin negotiating. We cite our inadequacies, our past failures, our limited resources. But here is the truth that cuts through every excuse: God's wild work is never about our inability. It is about His ability working through our availability. The moment we make ourselves available, God's ability takes over.
God's Work Will Require a New Walk
Moses could not stay in Midian and go to Egypt at the same time. Responding to God's call required a genuine, practical adjustment to his life. It changed his address, his daily routine, his relationships, and his future. God's call always costs something.
In our discomfort, we discover God's destiny. The frontier is not found in the familiar. It is found when we trust and adjust — when we stop arranging our lives for maximum comfort and start arranging them for maximum obedience.
God's Work Will Lead to Worship
The end of Moses' story is not exhaustion or defeat. It is worship. God promised Moses in Exodus 3, verses 21 and 22, that His people would leave Egypt with abundance, and in Exodus 12, verses 35 and 36, that is exactly what happened. The Passover became a permanent celebration, passed from generation to generation, a monument to what God had done.
When you step into the wild work of God, the destination is always worship. The journey may be difficult, but the glory at the end of it belongs entirely to God.
The wild frontier is not a reckless place. It is the safest place in the world, because it is the place where God is working. The only question left is the one Hank Aaron answered at home plate when Yogi Berra tried to distract him saying, “Hank you are holding the bat wrong! You should be able to read the trademark when you hit.” Aaron hit the ball into the bleachers, stepped on home plate, and said simply, "I didn't come here to read."
The question left for us is, What did we come here to do?
There is something stirring in the human heart that resonates with the idea of exploration. Leif Erikson, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama — these names conjure images of men who refused to stay within the borders of the known world. Something deep within them demanded that they move forward into the uncharted, the uncertain, the wild. And because they did, the entire course of human history shifted. What if God is extending that same invitation to you right now?
Throughout Scripture, God has consistently called ordinary people out of their comfort zones and into something far greater than they could have arranged for themselves. The story of Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3 is one of the most vivid pictures of this pattern. It is a story that is not just ancient history. It is a mirror held up to every one of us who has ever wondered whether God still calls people into something wild and transformative.
Here are seven realities of God's wild work that emerge from that story — and from the broader story of a God who refuses to be tame.
God Works While We Work
Moses was not doing anything extraordinary when God showed up. He was shepherding his father-in-law's flock — the same work he had done for forty years. Mundane. Routine. Ordinary. And yet, right in the middle of his Wednesday, God lit a bush on fire and spoke from it.
This is the first reality: God is always at work, even when we are simply doing our week. He does not take days off. He does not sit back and wait for us to get our act together. The question is not whether God is working around us. The question is whether we are paying attention. Moses had to turn aside from what he was doing to see the burning bush. How many burning bushes have we walked right past because our to-do list had our full attention?
God's Work Will Woo You
The first words God spoke to Moses were his name. Not a command. Not a task list. His name. That is deeply personal. God knows you. He knit you together, as Psalm 139, verses 13 and 14 remind us, and He pursues you with the same personal intimacy He extended to Moses.
But there is a condition to drawing close. God told Moses to remove his sandals because the ground was holy. When God calls you near, He will ask you to remove something — a habit, a distraction, a competing loyalty. He will not compete with your calendar or your comfort. Coming close to a holy God requires that we lay some things down.
God's Work Is With Him
Here is something worth pausing over: the Creator of the universe invites you to work alongside Him. In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9, the apostle Paul describes believers as co-laborers with God. Moses did not dream up the plan to deliver Israel. God had the plan. God had the power. God simply invited Moses to come along.
This is how God has always operated. He asked Noah to build. He asked Abraham to leave. He asked Joshua to march. He asked Nehemiah to build a wall. In every case, the invitation was the same: come with Me. And Moses was eighty years old when he received his invitation. If you think your best days of usefulness to God are behind you, the story of Moses has a word for you.
God's Work Is Well Spoken
When God speaks, there is no ambiguity about it. He told Moses exactly who He was, exactly what He had seen, exactly what He planned to do, and exactly what Moses' role would be. God's plan was clear, transparent, and grounded in His own character and promises.
That same clarity is available to us through Scripture. God's Word is the place where He speaks His plans. If you are wondering whether God is calling you to something, the starting point is always His Word. His call will never contradict it.
God's Work Will Make You Whimper and Whine
Here is where the story gets painfully relatable. After God laid out His entire plan with clarity and purpose, Moses' first response was, essentially, "But who am I?" He questioned his own worthiness, worried about whether people would believe him, and even complained that he was a poor public speaker. He made every excuse he could think of.
And we do the same thing. God speaks, and we immediately begin negotiating. We cite our inadequacies, our past failures, our limited resources. But here is the truth that cuts through every excuse: God's wild work is never about our inability. It is about His ability working through our availability. The moment we make ourselves available, God's ability takes over.
God's Work Will Require a New Walk
Moses could not stay in Midian and go to Egypt at the same time. Responding to God's call required a genuine, practical adjustment to his life. It changed his address, his daily routine, his relationships, and his future. God's call always costs something.
In our discomfort, we discover God's destiny. The frontier is not found in the familiar. It is found when we trust and adjust — when we stop arranging our lives for maximum comfort and start arranging them for maximum obedience.
God's Work Will Lead to Worship
The end of Moses' story is not exhaustion or defeat. It is worship. God promised Moses in Exodus 3, verses 21 and 22, that His people would leave Egypt with abundance, and in Exodus 12, verses 35 and 36, that is exactly what happened. The Passover became a permanent celebration, passed from generation to generation, a monument to what God had done.
When you step into the wild work of God, the destination is always worship. The journey may be difficult, but the glory at the end of it belongs entirely to God.
The wild frontier is not a reckless place. It is the safest place in the world, because it is the place where God is working. The only question left is the one Hank Aaron answered at home plate when Yogi Berra tried to distract him saying, “Hank you are holding the bat wrong! You should be able to read the trademark when you hit.” Aaron hit the ball into the bleachers, stepped on home plate, and said simply, "I didn't come here to read."
The question left for us is, What did we come here to do?
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