A NEW VISION FOR OVERCOMING GREAT LOSS

 

When Babylon horribly destroyed Judah and took all the people into painful bondage, the Prophet Jeremiah mourned this great loss of country, freedom, and prosperity. While Jeremiah mourned, a young priest named Ezekiel received new visions of God.

Ezekiel 1:1 (NLT Bible) 

On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

Ezekiel saw six visions of God. In the first vision, Ezekiel saw God on a throne, which was carried by four very powerful Angels, moving speedily up and down between heaven and earth; Ezekiel describes the person on the throne this way:

Ezekiel 1, multiple verses, (WEB Translation)

…a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with flashing lightning, and a brightness around it, and out of its midst as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire. Out of its midst came the likeness of four living creatures. (Verses 4-5)

Over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of an expanse, like the awesome crystal to look on, stretched forth over their heads above. (Verse 22)

Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and on the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man on it above. I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it all around, from the appearance of his waist and upward; and from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. (Verses 26-28)

Judah was experiencing a catastrophe; the people had lost loved ones and all their property, all hope seemed lost. Under such torment, Ezekiel received this lightning and stunning vision of God. This was the perfect medicine for the hour.

The vision renewed Ezekiel’s faith. He saw that in spite of what Israel was passing through, the Almighty God was still ruler of heaven and earth. The vision turned Ezekiel from seeing the problem, to seeing God’s provisions and solutions for a fresh start.

How are you dealing with loss and grief? I encourage you to share your feelings of loss, pain and anguish, with God in prayer. I encourage you to pray for a new vision, a new light, to guide you out of the dark, into renewed joy and hope.

May the Lord, in his amazing grace, answer your prayer for a new vision, Amen!

 

Image: Delhi gate early morning, By DarNadeem – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42992045   

LAY IT ALL TO JESUS THE MERCIFUL GOD

Luke 7:7 – 10 (NLT)

Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

A great need all over the world is healing, from spiritual, physical, emotional, and psychological illnesses, bitterness, pain and sorrows. No one is spared this unwanted cup of affliction – rich and poor, enslaved and free, white and black, old and young. It is a constant reminder of human weakness despite our advanced technologies and medical knowledge.

Jesus healed people of different kinds, ages, and levels of faith. The centurion, a senior Roman soldier, was not Jewish but understood more than most Jews that Jesus is God and has great spiritual power. He understood that Jesus did not need to be physically in the presence of the sick person, for his word to cure, heal, and bring life back into that sick person.

This is an incredible level of confidence in Jesus, considering that we who now have a record of the miracles of Jesus, still find it difficult to trust and call on him for help. Many of us read of Jesus miracles and just don’t believe; some of us think we are too sinful and cannot receive anything from Jesus; others prefer to cry in front of their Pastor for prayers.

This Bible passage is for everyone. This senior army officer was not even a Church goer; but he strongly believed in God’s goodness and power in Jesus. He made his request in all humility, Jesus was amazed, and next thing was  ‘they found the slave COMPLETELY healed.’ Please don’t suffer in agony and in silence – open up your mouth and pray to Jesus.

Do not be afraid, do not think I must find a Pastor and present him or her a large gift to pray for me. It does not require many words or high sounding grammar – simple sincere humble prayers like ‘Jesus, have mercy on me, deliver me from pain, compassionate God heal me from ill health, in your great love return me to good health’, are acceptable to him.

Lay it all before Jesus the merciful God, and let him bring healing into your life, Amen!

 

Image: Jesus and the Centurion by Paolo Veronese [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons