Ezekiel often takes the imagery of nightmares. Pictures of dark despair, depression, pain and violence. A land and a people without God. Strangers enter and violate the once holy and beautiful places. Ezekiel grieves at the sight of the wrath of God descended upon his city Jerusalem. God responds, “Son of man, do you see what the elders are doing here in the dark, each one before his favorite god-picture? They tell themselves ‘God doesn’t see us. God has forsaken the country.’ “ Ezekiel 8, The Message.
How often have I fallen into that very pattern of thinking? It happens almost unconsciously. I slip into an unbelieving mode and think, “God doesn’t really hear my prayers. How close is He really? When did I seem Him act recently? Does He really care? Is that really his voice I hear or is it just what I want to think? Why would I think that I matter enough for the God of the universe to take interest in what I do? After all, who am I really hurting?” Such patterns of thought are certainly human enough, but they put ME at the center and write God out of the equation. It has been said that hell is the absence of God and I have drunk enough water from the well of his grace to know that that is not what I want.
I am so thankful that He continues to patiently pursue me in spite of those times I try to hide things from him only to find that the only one I was trying to fool was myself. Yes, the God of the universe does take interest in what I do, say and think, not to crush me, but to teach me a better way of living, a way that allows me to know and enjoy more of Him. May his kingdom come and his will be done within me today.
Kathy
Sixty-six books in a year 