Day 180: Ezekiel 13-15
One day, we will all know that the Lord is God. May it not be because God has to turn his wrath against us and hurt our land. Let it be now. There is no greater time than now.
The Time Is Now
Difficult Days
Day 179: Ezekiel 9-12
We still are feeling sick here. It's been a long couple of days. But a discipline is a discipline, and I will continue to go on (even if I'm still a little behind). Fighting through the temptation not to do it is not easy, but I have to fight through it. Still, I don't have much to write about. Ezekiel continues to prophecy to the Israelite people, and he talks a lot about the glory of the Lord. I think I need a commentary to understand all of it. I really don't know what much of this means. But I don't have a commentary, so I'm just going to let the ideas percolate and simmer while I continue reading.
Today is the Day
Day 178: Ezekiel 5-8
Sickness is plaguing our family right now, and I don't have much energy or brain power to even try to process all that is being said in the book of Ezekiel. There is a lot of talk of God destroying Israel because of their unfaithfulness. This theme has been repeated over and over again throughout the OT. The end has come for Israel (7:6). Israel is doomed (7:7). The Lord will pour out his wrath and anger against them (7:8). God has decided to destroy Israel. He will judge them by the standards they have used against others (7:27).
And then, only then, will they know that God is Lord.
Let us not be like Israel. Let us seek the Lord now. Today. There's no better time than now. Let us know, today, that the Lord is God.
Ezekiel Sees a Wheel and Becomes a Prophet
Day 177: Ezekiel 1-4
When I was young, we learned this song about Ezekiel seeing a wheel in the air. I never really knew what that specific reference meant, and after reading these four chapters, I still don't really get it. What I do know, though, is that the glory of the Lord appeared to Ezekiel and called him to be a prophet. The Spirit had a presence in his life, and he responded to it. In fact, the word "Spirit" is used several times here. Ezekiel was to speak to Israel and to deliver to them messages from the Lord.
How will you respond to the Lord's call? Will you say "yes"? Will you hear his voice calling? Will you allow the Spirit to work in your life?
Dancing and Mourning
Day 176: Lamentations 4-5
Lamentations is a book for mourners. It is a book for people who have lost hope, who have experienced pain and loss, and who have become separated from God. Lamentations 5:15 says, "Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning." This book is about people who have lost hope and who are now crying out to God for help.
In recent years, much more than ever before, I have felt that much of the joy and hope I had as a young person has turned to mourning for one reason or another. It is no secret that I have been depressed over the last year of my life. I also suffered from postpartum depression after my son Peyton was born almost twenty years ago. Whereas I had experienced so much joy and happiness before, now I felt sad, lonely, and alone. I mourned. I felt the loss. I suffered. Lost hopes and dreams. Unnecessary conflict. Tired resignation. Worry. Anxiety. Sadness. Loneliness.
And although my dancing turned to mourning, God still came in. And he turned my mourning, my loneliness, my depression back into dancing, joy, happiness. God came in, and he restored my hope.
I am officially off depression medicine, and it feels good. I know, though, that dancing between mourning and joy is a part of life, but God is in control and he continues to rule my life.
Steadfast Love of the Lord
Day 175: Lamentations 1-3
The book of Lamentations is pretty grim, but hope still remains. I leave you today with this thought from Lamentations 3:18-26.
So I say, "My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the LORD."
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; it is new every morning.
Future Calling
Day 174: Jeremiah 50-52
"In those days, at that time,"
declares the LORD,
"the people of Israel and the people of Judah together
will go in tears to seek the LORD their God.
They will ask the way to Zion
and turn their faces toward it.
They will come and bind themselves to the LORD
in an everlasting covenant
that will not be forgotten.
The people of the Lord will go in tears together and seek the Lord. They will ask how they can get to Zion, and then they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant.
This reference to Israel and Judah--the people of the Lord--can be applied to us, too. We are the people of the Lord today, and one day we will seek the Lord. We will turn our faces toward Him, and we will make a covenant with God.
All knees will bow down. All mouths will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We will all worship the Lord. One day.
