Without hope. It is a very scary feeling. Ever felt it? Ever seen it in someone else?
I used to think that 2 Kings 25 was the most depressing chapter of the Bible. It details the last days of Jerusalem before falling to Babylon. It is depressing. After all, with different kings coming and going, the people had probably still held on to hope. Hope that this king might be different. Hope that people would start to reform their ways. Hope that God would once again bless their nation.
But I think hope left the building a bit sooner than that. I'm reading through the prophet Ezekiel, who was one of the first to be deported, before the fall of Jerusalem. It doesn't take all that long for God to begin giving him the bad news. Just 8 chapters in, Zeke proclaims God's judgment on the wickedness happening in His own temple. "Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them." (Ezekiel 8:18).
Surely you've wondered if God is listening to you. We have each had those times when we felt the neediest and Heaven felt the quietest. We wanted to hold on to hope, but...
God could not be clearer. "Shout all you want Israelites. I won't be listening." This sort of feels like hope not only waved good-bye but added an obscene gesture just for affect.
Sitting in your classroom at the start of another school year may give you that same feeling of hopelessness. It's hard to hope for the end when you've barely just begun. But hold on. There is hope. The story did not end with prophecies from Ezekiel or histories from 1 & 2 Kings.
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). That's God's word for His people. That's God's declaration for you. No matter where you are. No matter where you've been. No matter what you've done.
Can God hear you? Absolutely.
I used to think that 2 Kings 25 was the most depressing chapter of the Bible. It details the last days of Jerusalem before falling to Babylon. It is depressing. After all, with different kings coming and going, the people had probably still held on to hope. Hope that this king might be different. Hope that people would start to reform their ways. Hope that God would once again bless their nation.
But I think hope left the building a bit sooner than that. I'm reading through the prophet Ezekiel, who was one of the first to be deported, before the fall of Jerusalem. It doesn't take all that long for God to begin giving him the bad news. Just 8 chapters in, Zeke proclaims God's judgment on the wickedness happening in His own temple. "Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them." (Ezekiel 8:18).
Surely you've wondered if God is listening to you. We have each had those times when we felt the neediest and Heaven felt the quietest. We wanted to hold on to hope, but...
God could not be clearer. "Shout all you want Israelites. I won't be listening." This sort of feels like hope not only waved good-bye but added an obscene gesture just for affect.
Sitting in your classroom at the start of another school year may give you that same feeling of hopelessness. It's hard to hope for the end when you've barely just begun. But hold on. There is hope. The story did not end with prophecies from Ezekiel or histories from 1 & 2 Kings.
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). That's God's word for His people. That's God's declaration for you. No matter where you are. No matter where you've been. No matter what you've done.
Can God hear you? Absolutely.
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