Your Way, Not Mine

Ezekiel 3:10-27 He said to me: Human one, listen closely, and take to heart every word I say to you. Then go to the exiles, to your people’s children. Whether they listen or not, speak to them and say: The LORD God proclaims!

I was struck with a plank of reality this morning when I realized for all intent and purposes, the month of February is all but gone. Daylight Savings Time starts in a mere two weeks, Easter is around the corner, and before we know it another school year will come to an end. For me, that means my two oldest grandchildren will be off to start the next stage of their lives. Time flies by so fast we can get dizzy if we try to watch it.

All that was startling enough, but once that washed over me I felt the pang of disappointment knowing I was not where I hoped to be at this stage of my life. It was almost as if time was passing me by, leaving me behind pedaling as fast as I can to catch up but not really going anywhere. In the other room I have two bicycles. One is a stationary bike for exercise; the other is a real bike for riding on the road. It seems, in my perception, my progress would be measured on the exercise bike more than the bicycle these days.

Then, in His ever present way, God placed exactly what I needed to read in front of my eyes. I was measuring my success in serving Him by human standards. I know He placed the calling to serve Him in the mission field on my life long ago. My heart’s desire and expectations were to be serving full time somewhere toward that end. I won’t bore you with details but life and circumstance has made that a far away dream.

Most Christians know that they should be sharing their faith with others, that this is part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. I was encouraged and challenged by Ezekiel 3:10-11. In this passage, the Lord told Ezekiel to take His word to heart and then to share it with the Jewish exiles in Babylon, where Ezekiel was himself an exile. God told him to speak, “whether they listen or not” (3:11). In other words, Ezekiel’s calling was to be faithful, not successful.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with success, whether in life or in serving the Lord. But our chief calling as God’s people is to be faithful to Him, to serve Him with excellence, to obey Him wholeheartedly. If God chooses to bless our efforts with success, that’s great. But many times we cannot guarantee success. We can choose to be faithful, however, to do as well as we can that which God has set before us.

What is being a missionary if not sharing my faith and the Gospel? Isn’t that similar to that of Ezekiel? We are to take to heart God’s Word and then share it with others as truthfully and honestly as we can. To be sure, we should do so in ways that are appropriate and respectful. Yet, we do not have to worry about whether or not we will succeed. That’s God’s business. Ours is to be faithful.

For years, when raising grandchildren, I would say my mission field was in my living room. Now, it is online through Truth in the Morning. My body is not as strong as it once was, but my heart still burns with the same passion for serving Him.

Gracious God, thank you for saving me by your grace through Jesus Christ. Thank you for entrusting to me to good news of salvation, so that I might share it with others. Help me, Lord, to be faithful as your witness. Give me wisdom and sensitivity, so that I might speak in a way that honors you, both in the message and in the delivery. In all things, Lord, may I be found faithful. To You be all the glory. Amen.