A Personal Burden

Ezekiel did not speak because he wanted to speak, or share his personal opinions. He was not motivated by traditions or rewards. He only spoke because of the direction of God Himself. For “the hand of the Lord was upon him.”

This was a pattern throughout his ministry. The Bible describes how the Spirit took him away, and he responded as “the hand of the Lord was strong upon [him].” God called him apart when “the hand of the Lord was upon [him]” (Ezekiel 3:14, 22).

Later, as he sat in his house, “the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon [him]” (Ezekiel 8:1). After he was mute for a time, God opened his mouth, as “the hand of the Lord had been upon [him]” (Ezekiel 33:22).

This is the kind of relationship God offers all of us, in which we are sensitive to His presence. We are not motivated by popularity or pressure but by His Spirit at work within us. When His hand is on us, we feel compelled to act. As He weighs us down, we only can find relief when we obey.

How easily we can allow our lives to be dominated by habits or what others have told us. But God offers us the possibility of entering this dimension of a personal relationship with Him. Like Ezekiel, we become sensitive to the leading of His Spirit. We are ready to speak as He directs, or go where He leads us. We are so close that we feel His burdens and are overwhelmed by His call.

In your life, ask God to give you this sensitivity to His presence. Seek to be surrendered to His Spirit. Always ready to respond, only desiring to please Him.