When God called Moses from the burning bush, he commanded him: “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). Holy ground is not a physical place, but a spiritual one. When God commanded Moses to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground, he was not referring to a two-by-four plot of real estate. He was talking about a spiritual state.
The place was holy! What place? The spiritual condition Moses had finally come to. His spiritual growth had brought him to a place where God could get through to him — receptive, open to listening, mature, and ready to be dealt with by a holy God. Holy ground is a place of no reputation and, as we know, the Lord himself stood in this same place: “He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant” (Philippians 2:7).
At one time Moses was held in high esteem, respected in high government places, prestigious and privileged. But God could not use him until he tore away all that popularity and esteem and brought him to a place of no influence. Moses came to that place where he was broken and truly no longer cared about his work or his reputation. He was stripped of all his rights — because that is what was meant by the removal of his shoes. And that is when the great “I AM” was revealed. Thank God for that cleansing moment when by faith the old flesh is done away with and the hand of ministry is purified.
Getting to your personal holy ground will require complete honesty before God — and perhaps some pruning. But when you come to the place of giving up your reputation, you will find revelation. Choose to pursue the Lord with all your heart and say with our fathers in the faith, “Take this whole world, but give me Jesus.”