And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: (Ezekiel 3:16 ESV)
THE Answer
Ezekiel had just suffered through a terrible vision. He describes it in dreadful word-pictures and it is almost as terrible for us to read about it as it was for Ezekiel to see it. Earthquakes, rebellion, and the promise of ineffective ministry were all a part of what Ezekiel experienced.
And then God transported the empty-hearted Ezekiel PLOP into the middle of some Hebrew Exiles. War refugees who were without physical, intellectual, and emotional hope.
After a wait of seven days, God finally spoke to Ezekiel.
We do not yet know the message God gave Ezekiel. But it is enough to read that God was not silent. He saw the sorrows besetting the Hebrews due to their stiff necks… and He spoke. He saw the hopelessness endured by those broken members of God’s people… and He spoke. He saw their emptiness… and He spoke.
God spoke.
There is no better answer to whatever we are suffering with.
A lot of people speak. A lot of ideas get proposed. A lot of excuses get made. A lot of false hope gets presented.
But God spoke.
If we want hope, He is the source of hope. If we want redemption, He is the Redeemer. If we want the joy of our salvation returned, He is the joy-giver.
And He starts with His Words. For us, His written Words. For God’s people, the Bible.
Read them. Hear them, like Ezekiel. Let them fill you, turn you, fix you, and re-establish you.
Listen to Him speaking.