Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. Psalm 138:7 NKJV.

The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace. Psalm 29:11.

Our chapter, Ezekiel 4, is an object lesson Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, gave that was needed. We don’t see. But our sins and our weaknesses are all around us. And so is God’s love. “Now, son of man, take a block of clay, and put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel. Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel. After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side and bear the sin of the people of Judah…40 days, a day for each year. Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.” v. 1-8. And Ezekiel was also to eat only portions of wheat, barley, beans and lentils, millet, spelt and water; and to cook his food using human excrement for fuel, v. 9-13. Ezekiel, a priest, was appalled at the human excrement, so God told him he could use cow dung instead for fuel. He was to show as an object lesson exactly what would happen to Jerusalem for the people of Israel living far away in exile. He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.” v. 16-17. In the notes below it said: “We know that Ezekiel did not have to lie on his side all day because these verses tell of other tasks God asked him to do during this time. The small amount of food he was allowed to eat represented the normal ration provided to those living in a city under siege by enemy armies. The food that was to be cooked over dried human excrement was a symbol of Judah’s spiritual uncleanness.”

I think we all of us are undone by the sins and weakness we see in others, and it’s difficult to see that in others because it reminds us of the sins and weakness we have within ourselves. An uncomfortable reminder of what we cannot change. It gets to be too much and we are undone. But reading God’s word helps me remember that through every bit of our time in this life – God is here. Each one of us has a journey with God that is personal and needed. We like things to go a certain way at a certain time for then we feel in control and whole. But life has a way of intruding. And we are faced deep within with emotions we can’t control or understand. We can’t control the ravages of sickness, the death of loved ones, the trials and problems of those we love. These are a natural part of this life we live in a broken world. What does it all mean? It means remember. Remember the blessings we are surrounded with that we take for granted. As one of our Friday morning group pointed out, we need air to breathe and God provides air. We need water to live and God provides water. We are bound in the creation we are a part of to show us our Creator God who loves us and provides for us. No one else provides these blessings. And Creator God is here loving us. He does unexpected things at unexpected times. And always, when I am undone and hurting and confused, He is here. And in His love and care I know His peace gently reminding me that I am not alone. He knows my sins and my weaknesses and they do not undo Him. And He reminds me to love…through all the messiness of this life, love them as I walk in trust with Him. What does it all mean? It’s all bigger than you and me! But it is not bigger than our Creator God! Jesus was always tested by those, who like us, don’t understand because we get so tangled up in our own reasonings and want our understanding to be His. He cut through that because what is needed is God’s truth for us. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40. When I am undone by me and by others, our God is there loving us. He knows what we are made of. That’s why the Son came to show us a better way and that way is with Him loving them as He loves us. Trust Him who knows.