A devotional by Monique Anderson
“You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.” – Ezekiel 2:7 (NIV)
In Ezekiel chapter 2, God sends Ezekiel on an assignment that will not conclude successfully. In fact, He’s sending him on a failed mission.
God sent Ezekiel to a rebellious nation where the people are “stubborn and hard-hearted”. The nation of Israel had been rebelling against God for generations, and God knew they had no intentions of changing no matter who He sent to speak to them. Nonetheless, He wanted Ezekiel to deliver His message to the people whether they would listen or not.
“But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn.” – Ezekiel 3:7 (NLT)
Would you be able to follow through with an assignment that God tells you will be a failure?
Perhaps you’re thinking: What would be the point? Why bother sharing a message from God if the people will not receive it?
But isn’t this our everyday struggle? As disciples of Jesus Christ, we’re called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully and continually even when people don’t want to receive it.
Maybe you’re wondering, “If that’s the case, what is the point?” The point is not the success of the assignment but the success of your obedience to the assignment.
A lot of times we think our purpose in the assignment is the outcome. God is not watching the outcome, He’s watching our hearts. The truth of the matter is we will never see the outcome if we never fulfill the assignment.
My Life Application Study Bible says, “the measure of Ezekiel’s success would not be how well the people responded, but how well he obeyed God and thus fulfilled God’s purpose for him.” This note from my Bible is based on Ezekiel 2:3-5.
This tells me that God’s main purpose for our lives is our obedience. It’s not to have a large following or influence but simply to be obedient to the call on our lives. How well are you fulfilling God’s purpose for your life based strictly on your obedience? I can be transparent and tell you that I am failing miserably.
I’m always so focused on the outcome of what He tells me to do I end up not even doing it at all. How will people receive me? Will they even care to listen? And what do I even have to offer? I’m always so fixated on people’s response that I miss the mark on the assignment altogether. Can you relate? I just recently failed a mission with this exact mindset.
A friend of mine shared a message with me that she got from a devotional she read. She instructed me (through the Holy Spirit) to share this message with my step-daughter.
As I scrolled through the screenshots she sent, I thought to myself “my step-daughter will not receive this.” I was immediately consumed with how she would respond. Would she even care to listen? Would this change anything in her heart or mind? These thoughts delayed my obedience for two days. I had to submit all these thoughts to God and let Him lead. The Holy Spirit convicted me and reminded me of this text in Ezekiel. I heard God say, “You must speak my words to her, whether she listens or not.” Although I was eventually obedient, delayed obedience is still disobedience.
This section of Ezekiel’s story has given me a new perspective on God’s purpose for me and every task He hands me. He’s only looking for my “Yes and Amen” then He will handle the rest. I’m learning not to focus on the success of the task but being obedient to it. Focusing on the outcome will just lead to disobedience.
For all I know, I could have delayed my step-daughter’s healing and deliverance by being so hung up on her response. When God assigns us a task, especially one that involves other people, we cannot be delayed in our actions. Not only are we being disobedient, but we are also impeding on someone else’s blessing.
I encourage you to re-examine your assignment(s) from God. What are you focused on? What is your motivation for completing it? Success or Obedience?
Remember the success is in your obedience.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, forgive us for our disobedience. Forgive us for focusing on the outcome instead of the task at hand. I pray that you convict our hearts to remember Ezekiel when given instructions. Help us to be obedient to the call and not worry about the outcome of it. Allow us to relinquish the power we think we have in other’s people’s response. Remind us that your people’s response to the word we share is in your hands. Help us to move forward with your assignment with our hands open wide, willing to let go of the outcome. Teach us how to walk in obedience to your commands. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
~*~
Author Bio:
Monique is a writer, wife, and bonus mom to a 14 year old. She just recently unleashed her always present yet hidden talent of writing to the masses. She was born and raised in Mount Vernon, NY where she still resides, and serves on the prayer team of her church The Gathering Harlem.
A lot of times we think our purpose in the assignment is the outcome. God is not watching the outcome, He’s watching our hearts. The truth of the matter is we will never see the outcome if we never fulfill the assignment.
My Life Application Study Bible says, “the measure of Ezekiel’s success would not be how well the people responded, but how well he obeyed God and thus fulfilled God’s purpose for him.” This note from my Bible is based on Ezekiel 2:3-5.
This tells me that God’s main purpose for our lives is our obedience. It’s not to have a large following or influence but simply to be obedient to the call on our lives. How well are you fulfilling God’s purpose for your life based strictly on your obedience? I can be transparent and tell you that I am failing miserably.
I’m always so focused on the outcome of what He tells me to do I end up not even doing it at all. How will people receive me? Will they even care to listen? And what do I even have to offer? I’m always so fixated on people’s response that I miss the mark on the assignment altogether. Can you relate? I just recently failed a mission with this exact mindset.
A friend of mine shared a message with me that she got from a devotional she read. She instructed me (through the Holy Spirit) to share this message with my step-daughter.
As I scrolled through the screenshots she sent, I thought to myself “my step-daughter will not receive this.” I was immediately consumed with how she would respond. Would she even care to listen? Would this change anything in her heart or mind? These thoughts delayed my obedience for two days. I had to submit all these thoughts to God and let Him lead. The Holy Spirit convicted me and reminded me of this text in Ezekiel. I heard God say, “You must speak my words to her, whether she listens or not.” Although I was eventually obedient, delayed obedience is still disobedience.
This section of Ezekiel’s story has given me a new perspective on God’s purpose for me and every task He hands me. He’s only looking for my “Yes and Amen” then He will handle the rest. I’m learning not to focus on the success of the task but being obedient to it. Focusing on the outcome will just lead to disobedience.
For all I know, I could have delayed my step-daughter’s healing and deliverance by being so hung up on her response. When God assigns us a task, especially one that involves other people, we cannot be delayed in our actions. Not only are we being disobedient, but we are also impeding on someone else’s blessing.
I encourage you to re-examine your assignment(s) from God. What are you focused on? What is your motivation for completing it? Success or Obedience?
Remember the success is in your obedience.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, forgive us for our disobedience. Forgive us for focusing on the outcome instead of the task at hand. I pray that you convict our hearts to remember Ezekiel when given instructions. Help us to be obedient to the call and not worry about the outcome of it. Allow us to relinquish the power we think we have in other’s people’s response. Remind us that your people’s response to the word we share is in your hands. Help us to move forward with your assignment with our hands open wide, willing to let go of the outcome. Teach us how to walk in obedience to your commands. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
~*~
Author Bio:
Monique is a writer, wife, and bonus mom to a 14 year old. She just recently unleashed her always present yet hidden talent of writing to the masses. She was born and raised in Mount Vernon, NY where she still resides, and serves on the prayer team of her church The Gathering Harlem.
Monique always felt like God was chasing after her, but never felt the need to surrender. Until that is when life started veering left, and she no longer wanted to steer so she finally gave Jesus the wheel. After forming her relationship with God she always felt compelled to share the revelation’s that the word gave to her. She always felt the Holy Spirit prompting her to write, but was afraid of what people might think. So her writing started in her journal. The journal turned into a book, and the book into a blog.
Slowly but surely God’s love started to cast out all fear. She started to consistently update her bi- weekly blog yourstrulymoe.com. Her obedience led to further revelation. God revealed to her that he would use her to help others along their walk the same way God helped her along hers. Since Monique did not grow up in church she always felt intimidated by the Christian life. She thought that she would be losing so much of herself, not realizing that she would actually find her TRUE self.
Since God has shown her who he really created her to be, she now feels it is her life’s work to help those that are taking their first baby steps in this walk with Christ. She is doing so through her blog, and soon to be published book. She is excited to extend her reach to podcasts and speaking engagements in the near future.
Her blog is the stepping stone to fulfilling the vision God gave to her – “Sharing God’s revelations so we can all reflect his image and fulfill his purpose.”
~*~
Connect with Monique:
Website: www.yourstrulymoe.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourstruly__moe/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yours-Truly-Moe-140255684101423
Slowly but surely God’s love started to cast out all fear. She started to consistently update her bi- weekly blog yourstrulymoe.com. Her obedience led to further revelation. God revealed to her that he would use her to help others along their walk the same way God helped her along hers. Since Monique did not grow up in church she always felt intimidated by the Christian life. She thought that she would be losing so much of herself, not realizing that she would actually find her TRUE self.
Since God has shown her who he really created her to be, she now feels it is her life’s work to help those that are taking their first baby steps in this walk with Christ. She is doing so through her blog, and soon to be published book. She is excited to extend her reach to podcasts and speaking engagements in the near future.
Her blog is the stepping stone to fulfilling the vision God gave to her – “Sharing God’s revelations so we can all reflect his image and fulfill his purpose.”
~*~
Connect with Monique:
Website: www.yourstrulymoe.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourstruly__moe/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yours-Truly-Moe-140255684101423
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.