"Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand" (Exodus 2:12).

Moses saw the pain of his people. He saw the bondage and the injustice. His heart was enraged. He decided he would do something. He would take things into his own hands. The result was murder. The motive was right. The action was wrong. He went "horizontal" instead of "vertical" with God. The action was wrong. He fled to the desert where God prepared the man who would ultimately be the deliverer of a nation. But it would take 40 years of preparation before God determined he was ready. He was a professional businessman--a sheepherder. It was during the mundane activity of work that God called on him to be a deliverer.

Moses was like a lot of enthusiastic Christian business people who seek to solve a spiritual problem with a fleshly answer. The greatest danger to the Christian businessperson is his greatest strength--his business acumen and expertise to get things done. This can become our greatest weakness when it comes to moving in the spiritual realm. We're taught to be problem solvers. But, like Moses, if our enthusiasm and passion is not harnessed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will fail miserably. Peter had to learn this lesson too. His enthusiasm got him into a lot of trouble. But God was patient, just as He is patient with each of us. Sometimes He must put us in the desert for a time in order to season us so that Christ is allowed to reign supreme in the process.

Before you act, pray and seek the mind of Christ until you know it is God behind the action. Check it out with others. You may save yourself a trip to the desert.