Pastoral Pings - God’s Stories for Our Stories

          One of the things I love about the Bible is that it is filled with stories; real-life descriptions of how people experienced God in every imaginable circumstance of life so that every generation can know that there is nothing new under the sun, and that God remains the eternally unchanging hope of the world.

          Last night I was hit with some news that left me feeling quite hurt. I prayed about it last night with my prayer group, and prayer-journaled my feelings about it to God this morning. My testimony is to exalt God for giving us private and corporate prayer to pour out our hearts to him and experience his healing and comfort in Christ Jesus.

          I do not want to get stuck on my specific experience (God heard all about it last night and this morning), but broaden this to the issue of how God’s word speaks to us in whatever we are going through so we can always apply his word to our lives and put into practice whatever it is teaching us. I simply wanted you to know that I came to God’s word with a broken heart, and God comforted me. That is my testimony. It is what God does, as he has done countless times.

          Today, it was a return to this Scripture that ministered to my soul:

The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me. And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.[1]

          What ministered to me was this divinely-inspired record of a man who was as smack-dab in the center of God’s will as any man could be, and yet he described himself in three ways that are often considered negative emotions. He said he went out to do God’s will in bitterness, while in the heat of his spirit, and feeling overwhelmed. 

          Now, I must note that his bitterness was not the kind we often think of when one person is hurt by another. This was a description of a heart that was burdened by the pronouncement that he had such a bitter assignment as speaking God’s judgment to hardheaded, stubborn-hearted, rebellious people.[2]

          Imagine the heartache of someone who wanted to serve God, wanted to be part of a people who were faithful and obedient to God, and just heard God himself announce that the dream of an exciting, vibrant, fruitful ministry was not going to happen. Instead, it would be one of judgment and woe against a people who would not listen to him even though his message was breathed-out by God.[3]

          While there is much more that could be said about Ezekiel’s assignment, the point of my sharing is that there was a wonderful comfort in God’s assurance that a man can be bitterly heart-broken over something that people are doing, and yet still experience the LORD’s hand strong upon him and his ministry. I know the burning of my heart because of the sin of one person against another. Now I want to be sure I am living in such a way as to fully join whatever God’s hand is doing.

          Or, to put it another way, no matter how I am feeling, I want to keep in step with the Holy Spirit[4] as I bring all my heartaches and sorrows to my heavenly Father where comfort abounds[5] and mercies are new every morning.[6]

          From my heart,

          Monte

 

© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)

 

---

[1] Ezekiel 3:14-15

[2] Ezekiel 3:1-11

[3] “¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (II Timothy 3)

[4] “²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5)

[5] “³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (II Corinthians 1)

[6] “²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ^24 ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” (Lamentations 3)