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   

HEALING BY REMOTE CONTROL

Proverbs 3:5-8 (God’s Word Translation)

Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths smooth. Do not consider yourself wise. Fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. [Then] your body will be healed, and your bones will have nourishment.

In high school, I never cared much about my health. I was young, very well-fed, and strong. I could do whatever I wanted with my body. As a young adult, I was involved in work that required long hours of standing, long walks in the forest, and short hours of sleep in rough places. I could do all of this, get up the next morning, dust my body, and off I go to punish the body some more.

Now entering middle age, my body does not seem to recover as fast anymore from bruises, aches, pains, and short hours of sleep. I watch my steps when going up and down stairs, and when on wet surfaces. When it snows, I don’t want to go to the office, pick the kids up from school, or go grocery shopping. My health and concern for my body is now a top priority issue on my mind every day.

Consequently, the words of Solomon above have taken on a huge significance in my life as I have gotten older. How can it be that trusting in the LORD, giving ear to his counsel to turn away from evil, results in healing for my body and nourishment for my bones? What kind of technology and medical practice is this? My rational scientific mind fails to see the connection between faith and healing.

Then I asked myself ‘how come I can press the remote control and watch any program or movies I like on TV?’ To be honest I can’t fully explain how the remote control works. I know there are experts out there who can break it down for me to understand; but to me and billions of people around the world, it’s like magic, it’s like spirit in motion, when using the remote control to navigate the TV.

If God be given due respect as creator of all things including our bodies, then it is not too much to acknowledge that God must have a remote link with our bodies, such that at his word, our physical bodies including our bones receives nourishment, which our eyes just cannot see.

I know for that when I fast and pray on a regular basis, I am able to stay off junk food; I sleep better and physical activities seem lighter to perform. My energy levels stay high without need for energy drinks. There must be truth and power in this Bible passage, and it’s available for you too. Trust in the LORD, turn away from evil, and experience healing by remote control for your entire person.

 

Image: Christ heals the daughter of the woman of Canaan. Etching by Simpson after Samule Wale [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons]