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Day 232, or August 20. Does God really understand?

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Our thoughts today come from Ezekiel chapter 24 verse 16.

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Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes, yet

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do not lament or weep or shed any tears.

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse.

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Ezekiel takes two whole chapters denouncing his pagan neighbors for their godless ways,

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but only after announcing God's judgment on Jerusalem itself.

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Jerusalem should have known better when you consider how much God had blessed them over

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the centuries since Abraham.

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Everything is slotted into place now, and God will use the pagan Babylonians under

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Nebuchadnezzar to work out his plans.

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And now today's action step.

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Ezekiel pays a high price as he follows God.

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His wife dies, and he is forbidden to mourn.

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This is stark, harsh reality.

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Surely this can't be fair.

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Does God truly understand what some of us have to go through?

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I have lost count of the number of people who refuse to consider following a God who

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doesn't put an end to suffering, as though all suffering were God's fault and none of

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it ours.

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When disappointments hit us, they either make us bitter or better.

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Which will it be for you and me?

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None of us can really know how we will react at future times of tragedy.

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However, we can resolve now to trust God at all times, and ask him now to strengthen us

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if and when we have to go through a particularly difficult testing time.

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Some people lose their faith when tests come.

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I think I understand, but surely it leaves you with nothing.

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I would rather have a God who confuses me or even saddens me, than have no God at all.

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For me, like for many others, life would make no sense without God, because we are made

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in his image, made to have fellowship with him.

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Centuries after Ezekiel, the writer to the Hebrews tells us about Jesus.

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This high priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do,

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yet he did not sin.

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Remember, don't get bitter.

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Become better.