Day 232, or August 20. Does God really understand?
Our thoughts today come from Ezekiel chapter 24 verse 16.
Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes, yet
do not lament or weep or shed any tears.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse.
Ezekiel takes two whole chapters denouncing his pagan neighbors for their godless ways,
but only after announcing God's judgment on Jerusalem itself.
Jerusalem should have known better when you consider how much God had blessed them over
the centuries since Abraham.
Everything is slotted into place now, and God will use the pagan Babylonians under
Nebuchadnezzar to work out his plans.
And now today's action step.
Ezekiel pays a high price as he follows God.
His wife dies, and he is forbidden to mourn.
This is stark, harsh reality.
Surely this can't be fair.
Does God truly understand what some of us have to go through?
I have lost count of the number of people who refuse to consider following a God who
doesn't put an end to suffering, as though all suffering were God's fault and none of
it ours.
When disappointments hit us, they either make us bitter or better.
Which will it be for you and me?
None of us can really know how we will react at future times of tragedy.
However, we can resolve now to trust God at all times, and ask him now to strengthen us
if and when we have to go through a particularly difficult testing time.
Some people lose their faith when tests come.
I think I understand, but surely it leaves you with nothing.
I would rather have a God who confuses me or even saddens me, than have no God at all.
For me, like for many others, life would make no sense without God, because we are made
in his image, made to have fellowship with him.
Centuries after Ezekiel, the writer to the Hebrews tells us about Jesus.
This high priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do,
yet he did not sin.
Remember, don't get bitter.
Become better.