Monday, September 3, 2012

The Grace to Obey

The Word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your moustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning, I did as I was commanded." -Ezekiel 24:15-18 (NIV)

If you bother to read today's suggested scriptures, you'll notice that there isn't a lot of "feel-good" devotional material. Maybe that's why I don't like reading Ezekiel and Revelation. Maybe that's why I should read Ezekiel and Revelation more.

Passages like the one I've chosen to write about today are especially difficult. Does God really do this? Does God really get so fed up with God's people that He'd kill a prophet's wife to make a point to the Israelite people? I'd like to think not, but the Bible is full of instances where the wrath of God is said to bring about destruction and death. What I've come to realize is that, at best my efforts to understand God are incomplete and at worst inaccurate.

Here's what I do understand. Regardless of who or what causes it, every single one of us will experience a loss of some kind. Sometimes the loss occurs as a result of our lack of faithfulness to God. Sometimes the loss occurs because we are faithful to God. Still other times, the loss occurs regardless of whether we're faithful to God or not. Still, at some point in our lives, all of us will have to let go of something that is near and dear to our hearts.

When we experience a tragic loss, we will also be faced with what Ezekiel faced. We'll have to decide whether or not we're willing to trust God in the midst of our loss. We'll have to decide if we'll remain obedient to God despite our loss. In my own life, I cannot say that trusting God and remaining obedient to God in the midst of loss has been easy and I can't even say that it's been a decision that I've been able to make on my own. Instead, the ability to obey and to trust has been a gift of God's grace, something that I couldn't have done without God's help.

I want that kind of grace in my life, a grace that allows me to trust and obey when my heart is breaking and aching. I want that same grace for you. May God grant you that grace when you experience loss.


If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Ezekiel 25-28 and Revelation 10.

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