You Have a Purpose.

You have a purpose. 

We all hear that phrase on a regular basis. I’ve said that about a billion times in this blog, alone! But, have you every really thought about that phrase? Have you ever REALLY thought about it’s meaning? Read the book of Ezekiel, and you will most definitely begin to understand it’s meaning. I don’t know how familiar you are with Ezekiel, but he was a well-known prophet of God. God spoke to the nations and His people Israel, through Ezekiel – he told of the coming destruction and WHY that destruction was coming. Ezekiel was God’s way of preparing His people for the pain that was to come. But more importantly, Ezekiel was God’s way of showing His people why the pain was coming and how they could escape from it. That was Ezekiel’s purpose. That was his God-given purpose…and that’s the meaning of the phrase. THAT’S what you need to take away from this post. Ezekiel’s purpose was God. Ezekiel was put on Earth by God, for God and to lead people to God. 

Ezekiel 2:3-8 ³ He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. ⁴ The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ ⁵ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. ⁷ You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

Being a prophet of God? Speaking to His people for Him? Leading His people? Should be pretty easy, right? Think about it, if you’re chosen by God to do His work, it should be a cake-walk. God will most definitely bless you and take care of you, and nothing bad will EVER happen to you. Right? Wrong. Don’t get me wrong, Ezekiel does good in God’s eyes, and good in God’s eyes never goes unnoticed. But, nobody EVER said doing God’s work was easy. Nobody EVER said living out your God-given purpose here on Earth was easy. In fact, a lot of times, it’s more difficult than choosing to ignore God and live out your own purpose on Earth. For example, God killed Ezekiel’s wife. Just took her life! Why? So that Ezekiel could be a demonstration to God’s people on how powerful He is, but also on how they should react when put through painful situations.

Ezekiel 24:15-27

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears.¹⁷ Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

¹⁹ Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us?Why are you acting like this?”

²⁰ So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. ²² And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.²³ You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves.²⁴ Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’

²⁵ “And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well— ²⁶ on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. ²⁷ At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Does that sound easy? Does losing the “delight of your eyes” sound like something that would be easy to deal with? I don’t think so. And then to make matters worse, Ezekiel was to not mourn or weep his wife’s death! Come again, God? Now I don’t know about you, but I would have a hard time with this one. BUT, Ezekiel did just as The Lord asked. Ezekiel got it. He got the bigger picture. He understood that it wasn’t HIS purpose…it was GOD’S purpose. God’s purpose was to use Ezekiel as a demonstration to His people. His purpose was to speak through Ezekiel to His people. And the only way to show His people what to do in the coming destruction, was to put Ezekiel through a personal destruction of his own. Just as God asked Ezekiel to look to Him after His wife’s death, He wanted His people to look to him through the destruction of the nations.

Everything has a purpose. We have a purpose. And it’s all about God. It’s all about God’s purpose. Our pain has a purpose. Our blessings have a purpose. And all we have to do is look to Him, through it all. So if you’re going through a painful moment in your life, or even a joyful moment, look to God. Ask Him what the purpose of it all is. Ask Him what HIS purpose for it all is. Because God has a purpose for the joy and for the pain…and ultimately, He has a purpose for YOU.