Ezekiel felt overwhelmed. He said,
“I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.” Ezekiel 3:15
Have you ever felt overwhelmed? We all have, right? But, what I’ve found is that, if I am feeling overwhelmed, it is almost guaranteed that I am trying to do things in my own strength – not God’s. In almost every instance, what I’m really doing is trying to hold myself responsible for things that are beyond my control. This is a fool’s errand. It never works out very well.
This is what was going on with Ezekiel. He was feeling a lot of pressure, and great responsibility for how the people would (or wouldn’t) react to what the Lord was sending him to say. Talk about overwhelm. Anytime we start taking ownership and responsibility for other people’s actions, we are asking for heartache and trouble.
This is why I absolutely love God’s response to Ezekiel.
“And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.” Ezekiel 3:16-21
God wanted to make sure Ezekiel understood that his job was to be faithful to the word the Lord had given him. The people’s response to that word was not his problem. It was so important that Ezekiel understand this, that God repeated it.
It is also important that we understand it. Whether we’re talking about sharing the Gospel, speaking the truth to a friend, or simply striving to live a godly life, we are not responsible for other people’s reactions. We are, however, responsible before God, for whatever it is He has asked us to do. And if we don’t do it, there are repercussions. However, there is never a need to feel overwhelmed.
This is God’s show, not ours. He’s the one making things happen. But He has chosen to use us in the process. Therefore, let’s endeavor to be faithful to Him. Let’s say what He says and do what He says – always trusting the results to Him.
