hope now...

‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” Ezekiel 11:16

I read this verse a couple of days ago and came back to it again this morning. There are many who have been scattered, and some even cast off – for any number of reasons, the most likely being sin. And if that is the case, repent quickly and turn again to the LORD. However, that was not what captured my attention.

My heart was tapped by God’s merciful ‘yet’ clause.

‘…yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.’ That is a powerful and comforting thought!

No matter where we are, no matter how we ended up there, God says, ‘yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them …’

• Not when they get completely straightened out …
• Not when they find their way back to Me ….
• ‘I shall be a little sanctuary for them [now] in the countries where they have gone’

And He not only comforts us by letting us know He’ll be a sanctuary, He makes it personal and intimate. ‘I shall be a little sanctuary.’

Whenever my friend and I talk about creation and gaze at the stars, my head starts to hurt. She loves it! It reminds her how big God is and makes her feel good - safe and secure that He is large and in charge. Me, well it has an opposite effect. I too am reminded of how big God is. Yet, more often than not, I end up feeling small and insignificant, wondering if He notices me at all with all the other wondrous things in the universe. That is when God pulls me back to center. 

That is why I like this verse. Our magnanimous and all powerful God, who created the universe, consents to be a ‘little’ sanctuary for me – so that I don’t feel lost and overwhelmed. I am in awe when I think about how much He loves me … how much He loves us. And it fills me with hope, even as I face seemingly hopeless and insurmountable odds.

I heard this song on the way to work this morning. And I cried … not because I was sad but because I was so very thankful. Everything rides on hope now...

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who according to His great mercy

has caused us to be born again

to a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

from the dead,

to obtain an inheritance

which is imperishable and undefiled

and will not fade away,

reserved in heaven for you.’

I Peter1:2-4 NASB