Go, and fail... kind of

Tonight, I was reading Ezekiel, and in chapter 2, I came upon this, and I was amazed (verses 7-10):

"You must give them my messages whether they listen or not. But they won't listen, for they are completely rebellious!  Son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not join them in being a rebel. Open your mouth, and eat what I give you."

Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and it held a scroll.  He unrolled it, and I saw that both sides were covered with funeral songs, other words of sorrow, and pronouncements of doom.

What a send-off.  Ezekiel had just been told that he was going to be sent to speak to the Israelites  for God Himself, and the message was not going to be a happy one.  He was told ahead of time that they were not going to listen happily or change or receive him at all, but they in fact, would be more rebellious.  Oh, and, the last verse includes "pronouncements of doom," to top it off.

I am not sure what I would do if I were in his position.  What if God told me, "Sarah, I want you to go on the news, make sure all of the United States hears you, and then I will speak through you.  The whole country is in disarray and I'm not happy with them.  They are not really going to welcome this, and they will continue to do everything you and I tell them not to do.  Make sure that you stand out, that you don't become anything like them, and that you do everything I tell you to.  And, just so you know, there will be war, and pain, and terrible things to come.  I just thought I would give you a heads up."  I think that if God gave me this commission, I would feel the need to make some sort of contract before I jumped right in.  But not Ezekiel.  Actually, there are 46 more chapters of him doing exactly what God tells him to.

I know that God wants to use every one of us in a specific way.  For me, I know that it has something to do with communication, writing, and hopefully with outreach.  Everyone has a different calling and purpose, and different people God has for them to reach.  There are so many possibilities.  But what if we knew that we wouldn't be received, we wouldn't see any results come of our life's calling, and we were going to encounter really tough life situations the whole way.  That seems pretty heavy.

However, there is a good side.  Sometimes, it took thousands of years for God to fulfill His promises or for things that were prophesied to come to pass.  But, that is the cool part.  God does work in and through all things, and when He orchestrates something, it's just a blessing to be a part of it.  Can you really imagine the other side of what Ezekiel must have felt?  He had to be terrified and unsure, but he must have been freaking out in a good way, too!  God had just talked to him, and told him that there was a mission for his life specifically, and that God was going to use him to talk to a whole nation.  That is really amazing.

In the end, we can rest assured that Christ has ultimately won the victory, we can have peace when we are under His plan and in His will, and the joy that comes from following Him, and knowing we play an important part in His plan, will eventually heal any pain or rejection we feel in the course of our lives.  And actually, those bad things are supposed to be seen as good because it allows us to be used by God!  How backwards to us, but how much better!

Alright, so I know this was long, and for anyone who read the whole thing, thanks.  I know that sometimes I ramble, but I can't help it!  I keep learning!