‘A Fool for God’

​Daily Devotional – Monday, June 14, 2021

“And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to revive, and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 29:21, NLT)

In the Christian Church, we often have the notion that prophets were the religious superstars of their day. Nothing could be further from the truth. To be chosen by God to be one of His prophets was, more often than not, an entirely thankless job. The job required that the men and women God chose to speak through be willing to play the part of the fool for Him. Hosea was told to marry Gomer, even though she would be repeatedly unfaithful to him as his wife (Hosea). Isaiah was instructed to walk around naked for three years (Isaiah 20:2-4). Jeremiah bought a new linen belt that he wore for a short time, before God told him to go bury it, only to retrieve it again once fully rotten (Jeremiah 13). Ezekiel delivered messages of warning and doom to great nations for many years before God saw fit to enact the warnings.

Often, God told the prophets to do some odd and even outrageous things or to deliver messages that would not come to pass until after many years and sometimes even after the prophet’s death. When a prophet delivered a message, it was often met with curiosity at best or outright ridicule; recipients of their messages often responded with a cynically raised eyebrow of disbelief, rather than serious reflection. As those who believe in God, today, we shouldn’t expect much better. Our talk of the existence of an all-powerful God who is eternally existent makes no sense to some and is treated hostilely by others. God’s plan of forgiveness through His Son is ridiculed by many. The idea that there is a place called ‘heaven?’…nothing more than a fairy tale. The response of others can test our resolve to act the fool for God, but resolve ourselves we must.
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God’s encouragement to Ezekiel serves as an encouragement for us, too, to stay true to the job God has given His children and to boldly share the message that He’s given us. Even though we may find ourselves the butt of jokes presently, there will come a day when our words will be respected. Everyone, eventually, will come to the place of “knowing that God is the Lord.” Better to risk being accused of being a fool by people, than accused of neglecting our God-given job by our heavenly Father. There’s no shame in playing the fool, when you do so for God!
~ Pastor Jane
#hopechapel #collingwoodchurch #ezekiel13 #unashamed