OUT OF THE ASHES

Ezekiel 1:2-3 “On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel.”

Listen to the first three verses of the prophecy of Ezekiel and notice how he tells time. “In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month (It was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin) the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel.”

He didn’t tell time using the Jewish names of the months. Through Israel’s history, many had told time by the number of years since the Exodus, but Ezekiel didn’t do that either. He numbered time beginning with his exile.

Have you ever had an event like that in your life? Have you ever experienced a time that was so intense, so powerful, and so unforgettable that it made you almost forget about the other years through which you had passed up to that time? Ezekiel knew a time like that.

Perhaps your moment has changed your life and your perspective. Maybe it has created doubt and skepticism in your heart. Maybe, someone hurt you. Perhaps you failed in one area or another. No matter what it may be, these events can cause us to view life through a dramatically different, sometimes jaded, viewpoint. That period of pain and disappointment in life can become your frame of reference for every other future event. Therefore, we can become so steeped in the pain and bitterness that we feel as though that is where we belong. We can justify our present attitude and outlook based on one, relatively small, period of our lifetime.

What do we do to rise out of such a mindset and see fresh hope and light in our life? We can remember Ezekiel, who in the midst of tragedy saw a new vision of God. Ezekiel realized that, as long as God is involved, there is always hope. As long as God’s people seek his will, we need not sing a song of despair.

Ezekiel knew that God had not abandoned his people. He knew that God’s will had become difficult to discern for a season, but he had not abandoned those he loved. The resurrection of Christ is a reminder to us as well…we who stand here on this side of the cross…that God has not abandoned us either.

There is no doubt that certain events will change us. They will change our thinking. They may even change our present circumstances. But God has not changed. Just as God brought a new people out of the ashes of slavery in Egypt; just as God restored the nation from the ashes of Babylonian exile; just as God sent his Son to earth to raise humanity from the ashes of sin and death; so God is at work still, and will raise us from the ashes of pain, disappointment, sin, and even tragedy to become whole again. Don’t allow one portion of life’s journey to forever determine your eternal position. Live in hope. Rise from the ashes of your difficult situation and see God’s ultimate plan for your life.