Ezekiel 4.8 8 And behold, I will place cords upon you, so
that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the
days of your siege. (ESV)
Just over a year: 390 days. 25 days over as a matter of
fact. I groan every time I read Ezekiel 4 because every time I do I’m reminded
of Ezekiel’s having to lie on his side (his left side) for 390 days. And when
that was over, he had to roll over onto his right side and do it again for
forty more days. Yuck. Sometimes God makes us do the weirdest things…if we’ll
let Him; if we’ll obey. (Ezekiel only
protested when God told him to use human excrement as fuel for the fire to cook
his food.)
And then God said, “And
behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the
other, till you have completed the days of your siege.” In other words: Ezekiel, don’t even think about getting
comfortable, I’m going to paralyze you to get my point across. God does
what God does and Ezekiel obeyed.
Recently, my bride and I went tent camping. It only took
two nights on the ground with little padding under our fat and spoiled bodies
to remind us why we don’t go camping… both nights my hips and knees were
killing me! Campfire coffee never tasted so good in the morning!
So I thought: do we have cords in life that keep us from
getting more comfortable? Do we find ourselves in the weirdest places doing the
weirdest (and often harmful or inane) things? Has God bound us up in a
location, a vocation, or some other “ation” to get His point across? Where is
God when day 321 (of 390) comes around? Where am I in my heart and mind? (That’s
probably the more important question…)
What seems to be hard for most of us to accept is how God
deals with us to get His point across. The point may be for us: I tend to think
that what Ezekiel went through was somewhat based upon what was in his heart
about his nation and their apostasy from God. And the point may be for others:
as they watch helplessly as the cords of God paralyze or cripple or prevent us
from living our/their view of the American Dream; maybe the Church Dream: How can God do that to him; he must’ve done
something really wrong!
God does what God does and we’re to cooperate with Him as
He does what He does. This may call for patience. This may call for a renewed
contentment. This may call for humility and this may call for submission. God
does what God does to get His point across.
This made me think about my current age and stage in
life. This made me think about my ministry and my vocation. This made me think
about the things God is asking me to deal with (and no, He hasn’t asked me to
lay around for 390 days!) This made me ask, God, are we getting somewhere in
all this – and if we are is there something else I must do (besides whine,
moan, and groan about where I am and what I do?) What would I willingly do for
God to get the point across to my family, my community?
Father birth in Your servant a new level of contentment
and trust and may I get the point, or may others get the point as they witness
Your interaction with me – Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment