It's not always easy, being...
Ezekiel continues recording his calling from the Lord. He describes eating the scroll, which tasted as sweet as honey, yet the Lord tells him upfront that the house of Israel will not listen to His words. After sitting overwhelmed for seven days, Ezekiel receives another sobering word from the Lord:
"When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul." Ezekiel 3:18-19
The Lord makes it clear: Ezekiel is responsible for faithfully delivering His warning, but the people are responsible for how they respond. This reminds me of what the Lord revealed concerning Paul in the New Testament: that he would suffer many things for His name's sake.
The struggle is real when it comes to obedience! It's not always easy being a messenger of the Lord. Few are called to deliver a message of coming judgment like Ezekiel, but all of us who belong to Christ are called to bear witness to His goodness through our words and lives, regardless of how that testimony is received.
Do you realize that with every breath you take and every beat of your heart, you have another opportunity to share the goodness of God?
Even in life's difficulties and trying seasons, we have a reason for an eternal joy deep within our souls. Not because life is easy, but because of the eternal life given to us through the grace of God in Jesus Christ!
He has truly transformed our lives! And like Ezekiel, regardless of the response, we should be willing and ready to share the sweetness of His Word and the wonder of His work in our lives.
You ready? Then share with someone today!
-To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.