Ezekiel 1-4

People are stubborn.  We just are.  That's at the center of our reading today as we begin reading Ezekiel (1-4).

While Jeremiah was a prophet predicting the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel the priest was already living in exile in Babylon.  Through a dramatic encounter with God, Ezekiel faithfully follows God's call in his life to be a prophet and "street preacher" to the Israelite captives.  Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel predicts Jerusalem's fall.

God uses Ezekiel to help people remember Him, repent of their sins, and find restoration for their lives and their souls.

It's a really hard call to follow, speaking to stubborn people for God, but God is clearly with Ezekiel every step of the way.

I love Ezekiel's description of his encounter with God.

Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.  

When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Ezekiel 1:28

The hand of the LORD was on me there, and he said to me,

  "Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you."

So I got up and went out to the plain.  And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell face down.

Ezekiel 3:22-23

Even though most of us have probably not had a vision of God like Ezekiel's, we know that through Christ, God is with us.  He speaks to us and gives us glimpses of His glory in moments, and we can sense His presence and power.

For sure, I have sensed God's majesty in the faces of children, the glimmer of the sun and the vastness of the blue sky, the warm pause in a long embrace, the words of a song that make me sing and dance, the freedom and fun of just being with true friends, and even in the unexpected joy that comes in the middle of life's hardest times.

Have you ever had glimpses of God's glory?  However, extravagant or simple, God makes Himself known as we open our hearts to Him.  Whether He gives us a little nudge or knocks us off our feet, God lets us know that there's more to life with Him than we know, more than meets the eye.

A prayer for today-

Dear God,

Thank you for all the ways You make Yourself known to us.  Thank You for always being with us.

Forgive me for all the ways I allow myself to be so rushed and busy-bodied that I miss Your presence.  I don't want to keep getting so caught up in the unimportant things of this world that I miss Your voice.

  Help me to slow down.  Lord, open my heart, my mind, my eyes, and my ears to the glimpses of Your glory that are right in front of me.

Lord, please fill ____________________ with Your loving presence.

You are truly awesome, God.

In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit I pray,

Amen

Grace and peace,

*This post is part of A Mind-Maker-Upper's Everyday Reading Project.  Click here to read more.