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In Order. Suddenly

September 4. Ezekiel 24 – 27

 

24:15 Again a message came to me from the Lord, saying: 16 “Son of dust, I am going to take away your lovely wife. Suddenly, she will die. Yet you must show no sorrow. Do not weep; let there be no tears. 17 You may sigh, but only quietly. Let there be no wailing at her grave; don’t bare your head nor feet, and don’t accept the food brought to you by consoling friends.” 18 I proclaimed this to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did all the Lord had told me to.

 

How do you handle the sudden calamities and tragedies in your life? Why does God even permit them to happen in your life? The prophet suddenly loses his wife and he is told by God that he cannot cry or receive consolation, the most that he can do is quietly sigh for her loss. And he did it!

How did he not grieve, or cry out, or receive the consolation of friends and family? How did he not shake His fist at God in anger or frustration and proclaim that is act was unfair and cruel? How was he able to do all that the Lord had told him to do, and why did he do it?

What we know of Ezekiel above all else is that he believed God, not just believed in God, but he believed God. We know he believed God, because of his boldness to proclaim, unashamedly, some of the harshest prophecies the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem would ever hear. He never backed down from conveying God’s words and His message.

When you have an unshakable confidence in God’s character and His Word, you too will be able to face even the sudden losses and epic tragedies of life. Because you know that God’s promises are true. You know that He is working a greater plan and that plan is good.

It is okay for you to not understand all of God's plan and how it works, but realize the part that you play in His plan is very important. Because how you face the calamity will be an example for someone else. They will either see an unshakeable confidence in God and His Word, which produces strength and peace and gives purpose; or they will see your fear, panic, anger, and anguish.

And there it is, perhaps boiled down to its simplest form, what does all this mean, what are you trying to tell us? See God. Trust God. Hear Him. Obey Him. Point people to God. Let others see God and His Word lived through you.

 

24:19 Then the people said: “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”

 

How do you handle sudden loss and pain? Why does it even happen? You have to trust God’s Word and character so that others can learn to trust God’s Word and character.