Adequately Equipped

We are at a friend’s house and it’s very early in the morning, while it is still dark outside. I hear a knocking on the door downstairs and the mother is calling to her son, waking him up, to receive the good news. She repeats these words as she continues to wake him up. “You have puppies, you have puppies.” This is all taking place when I’m at school with our Lord. When I hear her excited and joyful voice, I hear myself asking our Lord, “What is my good news?” Who has knocked on my heart’s door, awaking me out of my slumber, to give me good news? Remember, I’m already at school, and in prayer with the Holy Ghost. I begin to think of the good news being the fact that I have been awakened to see another new morning, but that was not it.

What I did not yet realise was, at that precise moment, our Lord was knocking at my mind, as it were, that I would open me up wide, to receive this specific word of clothing and enclosing, prepared and ready to do His work and will, in His might and power. Is this not welcomed good news, for you also? By faith, with every given offering, will you take it as a knock, to awaken you from your sleep of forgetfulness? I say forgetfulness, because too often we seem to forget all that God has promised us and given to us. We need the Holy Spirit to not just teach us all things, but He will remind us of everything that Jesus has said to us. I believe and accept that Holy Spirit, in these reminders, is removing us from spiritual memory loss.

Knock! Knock! Hear the good news! Jesus is calling you, just where you are and among the people with whom you live, to do something for Him. We follow God and His undeniable and trusted ways to His servants. He has called Ezekiel to do a special work for Him. Like you and me, we do serve the Lord, but there are times when we are called to do something which is really tough, frighteningly tough and we become all worked up, agitated and totally taken over by crippling fears. But God is not unmindful of what He wants you to do in His Name, so He does all He needs to do in you and to you, to make you ready for His special work.

Ezekiel is called by God to speak to the house of Israel, Ezekiel’s own people. However, God is not unmindful of the degenerate state of Israel and lets His servant know this. But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. Ezekiel 3: 7

The first piece of good news for you is that God is aware of the minds and hearts of those to whom He is sending you. You do not have to fuss and fret about the attitude of the people or person, because God has told you that they will fight you and resist you. They will respond to you in hostility because, if they won’t listen to God, they will not listen to you. Their response to you is living testimony that you are indeed one with our Lord.

The other piece of good news is that Jesus never throws His servants to the hounds, without making them resistant to them. When Ezekiel was sent, just listen to what God said He would do to him. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Ezekiel 3: 8 – 9a. Here is unarguable truth, which is daily proven even in the secular realm. When a person knows that she or he has been equipped with better and greater ammunition than the opponent, timidity and tentativeness all disappear. You do not have to remain inferior, weaker than, tormented and intimidated by any kind of force, for our Lord knows how to fix and fit you to stand victoriously against such. Who can make our Lord’s defences in you look stupid and laughable, due to failure?

The final piece of good news is that you are strongly encouraged to take every bit of good news to heart. And he said to me, Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Ezekiel 3: 10.

When our Lord tells you and gives you some very scary work to do for Him, when you have to face your own, who are sick with stubbornness and hardened of heart and mind, do not shy away, do not be discouraged and do not be afraid of them or be terrified by them. Ezekiel 3: 9b.

Instead, if you truly believe and do not doubt, you will activate all this good news in you and show God as Victor.