Yes, I, Jehovah-M’Kaddesh!
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Ezekiel 4, 5 and Psalm 138 (NIV)
(Tony Chan, CIC Facilitator)
READ:
Read Ezekiel 4, 5.
The following verses stood out to me:
v4:16 – He then said to me: Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem.
v5:6 – Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.
OBSERVE:
‘Not I’ was my initial response when I read about the arduous tasks that the prophet Ezekiel had to perform, which were intended to be God’s warning message to the people of Israel. My first reading made me wonder if it was just a vision or whether the prophet had to carry out the instructions. Further study suggested that Ezekiel faithfully carried out every act in obedience.
‘Not I’, because I would not have the courage or strength to fulfil such a demanding task. I would request God to ‘tai-chi’ it to someone else. I think living in Singapore is a blessing but at times it hinders me from moving out of my comfort zone to do what God wants me to do.
‘Not I’, because haven’t I been a faithful believer serving God in prison ministry and facilitating CIC classes? So why O God would You ‘cut off the food supply’ (4:16), pleasures such as watching Netflix, listening to music, taking well-deserved holidays with my family, exercising, and eating healthily?
‘Not I’, because don’t I attempt to follow God’s laws and decrees to the best of my ability? So why O God, would You be against me and punish me?
APPLY:
“Spiritual formation is the ever-increasing capacity to live the spiritual life from the heart” – Henri Nouwen
Yes I, O Jehovah-M’Kaddesh (the Lord who sanctifies), because prioritising my relationship with You over all things will help me rightly gain the promise of an abundant life.
Yes I, O Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, because emptying myself of self-righteousness and humbly seeking Your presence daily will help me rightly love You and love others with Your truths written upon my heart.
DO:
I will endeavour to serve when I am called by God to do so. I will endeavour to increase my time alone with God, and in holiness show grace and love to others.
PRAY:
Yes I, O Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, sanctify me! Make me wholly Yours and Yours alone! Amen.
