Have you ever watched someone worship and wonder, “How do they do that?” I have. I think I have “worship envy.” Maybe it was my upbringing in a conservative church environment, maybe I care too much what people think, maybe I have never totally surrendered myself to worship. The reality probably lies somewhere in between.
As I read the Book of Ezekiel, I found myself in awe again of someone so sold out for God that he was willing to do whatever to get God’s message across. Ezekiel was “All In.”
If God said lay in the street on your left side for 390 days and then on your right side for 40 days…Ezekiel did it (to teach a history lesson). If God said shave your head and divide your hair into three piles to explain a prophecy…Ezekiel did it. If God asked Ezekiel to NOT mourn the passing of his beloved wife as an example to the Jews…he managed to do it.
God said, “Teach” and Ezekiel had the responsibility to teach the captive Jews discipline to follow their God. Discipline doesn’t always have a positive feel to it, so I looked it up for us.
Discipline
1) Training to insure proper behavior;
the practice or methods of teaching and enforcing acceptable patterns of behavior.
2) Training that corrects, molds or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.
The Israelites found themselves in captivity…again. Sometimes we think God isn’t paying attention to our lives when times get hard. I think it is just the opposite. Those hard times are to drive us toward Him. How do people survive without God? We were created to need Him. If we leave Him out then we deny a very important part of ourselves.
God sent Ezekiel to help the Jews adjust to their captivity. He gave them hope to carry on and a way to return to a right relationship with God. “God never forgets those who are faithful to Him” (pg 25). He won’t forget you either.
Do YOU know Ezekiel’s God? Ezekiel 16:62 says,
“I will establish my covenant with you, and YOU shall know that I AM the LORD.”
God’s promise to establish His covenant was for anyone who would obey Him and follow His commands. That’s what the name LORD means.
As we see in Ezekiel’s story, there is not one sedate and reverent way to worship God. Neither is there always craziness associated with worship of the LORD. Worship happens as we seek His face. As we offer our lives to Him, He chooses how to express His love to us. Give your life to the ONE TRUE GOD and be part of the Body of Christ.
If you search for the I AM, you will find Him…He wants to be found.
Let’s PRAY:
We come into Your presence to acknowledge that YOU are LORD. You are Sovereign and You know what is best for us. Thank You for loving us enough to reveal Your character to us. Ezekiel has shown us that You can breathe new life into our dry, dead lives if we only have faith in YOU. Change our hearts so that we can more fully submit to YOUR will and not ours. We want to worship you in freedom. Lord, teach us! We love you, LORD.
AMEN
