Anglican Devotional 21 October 2022 – Hope For The Faithful

TOPIC: Hope For The Faithful

READ: Ezekiel 11:14-25 (NKJV)

14. Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
15. “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, [are] those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’
16. “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ‘
17. “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ‘
18. “And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.
19. “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,
20. “that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
21. “But [as for those] whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.
22. So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel [was] high above them.
23. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which [is] on the east side of the city.
24. Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me.
25. So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me.

THE MESSAGE:

Today’s Bible passage is the answer to Ezekiel’s question concerning the fate of the remnants of Israel (verse 13b). The majority of the people had moved far away for the Lord. However, there was a remnant of faithful among the people. For their sake, God would not destroy them. At that time, many of the faithful remnants were already in captivity. However, God put them in the protection of their captors, and they would survive as God promised (verse 16). Apart from God’s protection and making sure they survived, He also promised Divine restoration back to their land. Not only would He restore them, but He would also give them one heart and a new Spirit to worship Yahweh (verses 17-20). To the unfaithful, only destruction awaited them (verse 21). Though the world is facing diverse challenges and tribulations, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (Lamentations 3:22).

Our nation is no longer secure; there are killings everywhere. Frustration, insurgency, sickness, disease, economic meltdown and corruption have become the order of the day. In the midst of these, God is ever ready to restore us to our original state, if only the faithful would turn their hearts to Him and call upon the name of the Lord for Divine intervention over our situation in the country and the world at large. There is still hope in God for the faithful.

PRAYER: O Lord, have mercy upon our land; and for the sake of the faithful, restore us to fullness in Jesus’ Name. Amen.