Even now, knowing how it ended, I’m still convinced the Lord was in it. My husband and I received a clear word from the Lord and we were obedient. What did we discover? Obedience can be costly. You’ve probably been there. You felt the nudging to witness to someone, but they did not respond the way you had hoped. There was a conviction to confront that person and, when you did, a relationship was changed forever. Maybe, the Lord has asked you to do something bold and outside of your comfort zone. You are probably not sure what the end result will look like.

It may be hard to accept, but the end result is not our concern.

What I Read:

Ezekiel 2:1-8

What He Said:

Once again, we find God sending his servant out on a difficult mission. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We must face the fact that we are still walking this sin-stained sod because there is still work to be done. Until God graciously sweeps us home, we must be about the Father’s business. Let’s listen in as Ezekiel gets his marching orders.

I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are also impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say, “Thus says the Lord.” – Ezekiel 2:3-4

When I was a child in school, the teacher would sometimes have to leave the classroom. And, when she did, she would leave a student in charge. That child was allowed to write the names of disobedient children on the board and to remind the whole class of the rules. The student spoke on behalf of the teacher for that brief time. I’m sure you can imagine that the chosen child was not always popular with the rest of the class during that time. No one wanted to listen to their, “But the teacher said…”

Ezekiel was put in a similar situation. He was sent to give a word to a rough group of folks. Rebellious. Impudent. Stubborn. This is the crowd that Ezekiel is being sent to with the message, “Thus says the Lord.” I imagine he did not have very high hopes for a warm reception.

If you have ever had to confront someone you love, you know that uncertainty. Lord, what if they do not receive what I have to say in the spirit that I intended? What if I speak your truth and they get angry? What if… Oh, we can drive ourselves crazy with some what-if kind of thinking.

When you are in that place of worrying about someone’s response to something you feel compelled by the Lord to do or say, God has a Word for you. Let’s listen in on this conversation between God and Ezekiel. I promise, they wouldn’t mind.

Whether they hear or refuse to hear… – Ezekiel 2:5

And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear… – Ezekiel 2:7

There is freedom in those words, folks. We have already listened to God giving some difficult assignments to His children. Here, with Ezekiel, we begin to see how God makes those tasks a little easier. The results are not our concern. Our obedience is not based on someone else’s response.

Our only job is to not be afraid.

Twice, God tells Ezekiel to be not afraid of their words. Gosh, words can hurt can’t they? We worry about being laughed at or mocked for what we believe. Fear, however, leads to rebellion.

We must represent Christ regardless of the world’s response.

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This post is part of a 31 Day series. Read the first post here.