I once read a scholarly article that asked a strange question. Was the prophet Ezekiel on drugs? If you've read his letter, you understand. I'll let you chase that rabbit trail on your own. In the meantime, recall that Ezekiel's name means something like "strengthened by God." And when you step into his story, you can see that is his testimony.
Right now, our church is walking through the book of Lamentations. These are five poems written by the prophet Jeremiah, a contemporary of Ezekiel. Our worship series is titled "Hope in the Ashes." Usually, when we talk about hope, we talk about what comes after the ashes. After the grief. After the loss. After the valley. Of course, there is something to celebrate about that.
But if we're not careful, that kind of hope always lives just out of reach. It's like something that's only on the other side of what we're going through. Lamentations doesn't do that. It presents a view from within the ashes of Jerusalem's destruction.
Here's how that ties in for today. Ezekiel is sitting in the same moment. So, his story has something to tell us about what God can do in the middle of our greatest struggles as well. The opening verses of his letter may not seem like much, but they emphasize what we're hoping to see.
The prophet says he was among the exiles. Jerusalem was in ashes. He was exiled to a place he never planned to be. But it is in that experience that something unexpected happens. The heavens were opened, and God gave Ezekiel his visions.
Ezekiel wasn't in the temple. He wasn't in his comfort zone. The place that looked like the end of everything became the place where God started speaking.
So, my encouragement to you is to pay prayerful attention to where you are. If God can open the heavens in exile, then maybe your current place isn't as silent as it feels.
Stay blessed...john
Comments