Be content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 NRSV.

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 NASB.

I want to share again the two devotional messages. The first one from Hearing God by Dallas Willard began with the first Scripture verse cited above and says: “We seek the person and presence of God partly for how it benefits our life circumstances. Indeed, the presence of God is a place to hide from the intrigues of people (Psalm 27:5; 31:20; 32:7). Yet trying to control our circumstances by means of God’s presence is not what we rest in as disciples of Jesus. In God we are content and count with confidence on the Lord (Hebrews 13:5-6). The promise is not that God will never allow any evil to come to us, but that no matter what befalls us, we are still beyond genuine harm because God remains with us and His presence is enough by itself. Our contentment lies not in God’s presents to us but in the presence of the One whose presents they are. Pray: Consider this phrase: God remains with us and His presence is enough by itself. If God were to ask you, “Am I enough?” what would be your honest answer? Talk to God about this. If you wish, ask God what the next step would be in letting Him be enough.”

And from You Are The Beloved by Henri Nouwen: “The mother of expectation is patience. The French author Simone Weil writes in her notebooks: “Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.” Without patience our expectation degenerates into wishful thinking. Patience comes from the word patior, which means “to suffer.” The first thing that Jesus promises is suffering: “I tell you…you will be weeping and wailing…and you will be sorrowful.” But He calls these birth pains. And so, what seems a hindrance becomes a way; what seems an obstacle becomes a door; what seems a misfit becomes a cornerstone. Jesus changes our history from a random series of sad incidents and accidents into a constant opportunity for a change of heart. To wait patiently, therefore, means to allow our weeping and wailing to become the purifying preparation by which we are made ready to receive the joy that is promised to us.”

Why share these devotionals? In our chapter, Ezekiel 42, the descriptions of the measurements continue with the measurements for the priests rooms. Then he said to me, “The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings – the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings – for the place is holy. Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.” v. 13-14. And then…When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate and measured the area all around. He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was five hundred cubits. He measured the north side; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. He measured the south side; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common. v. 15-20. To separate the holy from the common. We must never forget that Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, is holy. And what He teaches us is holy. This broken world we live in teaches many things but does not teach what is holy. And when we have suffered from the brokenness of this world, God’s holiness is what heals us. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2), 1 Peter 1:15-16. But how? Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” 1 Peter 1:17-25. By the measuring rod…In a vision given to Ezekiel, an angel measured everything in and around the temple yet to be rebuilt. That was a physical building that would also be destroyed centuries later. By the measuring rod of our hearts, are we fertile ground for what Creator God wants to give us? His Spirit dwelling within our hearts leading us forward with Him. We have so much to learn! Be willing! He has so much to give!