Reading: Ezekiel 3

'Preparation for Service'

"Then He said to me, 'Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you." Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. Ezek 3:1-3

God was preparing for himself a man that would become a "watchman to the house of Israel". If only we could be like Ezekiel who heard the word of the Lord and did not haste to obey it. I love the language here, "So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll". To be fed by the Hand of God embodies the closeness of this relationship. Like a father feeding his child, nourishing him for the long, hard journey ahead. The challenge was for sure no child's play. God was sending him to speak to a people, "stubborn and obstinate" to the core. The power to accomplish this mission would hinge on two things: his closeness to God and the sweet taste of the scroll in his mouth. Ezekiel was assured of God's nearness to him as he states, "So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away;" and also "the hand of the Lord was strong on me." Ezekiel was changed from the inside out. God provided what he would need for the great task before him. "Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. "Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead".

Dear Lord, prepare me from the inside out for the great mission ahead.