Ezekiel, trained as a priest, became a prophet of the Lord while in Babylon. His name actually means "strengthened by God", and there are multiple times throughout the book bearing his name that we read how "the hand of the Sovereign LORD" came upon him. What does it mean to have the hand of God come upon us?
The hand of God upon a life provides supernatural strength and direction for a difficult task. My mind immediately reflects back to Grade 10 gym class. I will easily confess that I am not an athlete. My focus and training were all musical and I had no interest in sports of any kind. I remember the weeks our Phys-Ed classes were focused on apparatuses such as the uneven bars, vault, pommel horse and beam. At the conclusion of this segment of teaching we all had to create and perform a program on one of the pieces of equipment. Not desiring to choose any, and with no experience because of lack of participation during class, by process of elimination I decided on the beam. No one was more nervous than I was as I climbed up, for the first time, to present my routine. To this day I have no idea what I did, but the encouragement and cheers from fellow classmates as I made my dismount revealed one thing, the hand of the Sovereign LORD had come on me. My prayer had just been not to fall off and break my neck, but God graciously provided me with His strength that enabled me to do more than I felt physically capable and pass the requirements needed. I know that may seem like a strange illustration for this truth, but as a fifteen-year-old, that example fills my heart as one of the first times I personally experienced the hand of God divinely providing ability to undertake a task that was far beyond anything I could do on my own.
Ezekiel had a call on his life from God, and when we respond in obedience as he did, we can be assured that God will enable us to fulfill His call. The power of God, through the hand of God upon us gives tangible evidences of His help. Not only does the hand of God provide power, but it is a sustaining, delivering, guiding, redeeming, protecting and encouraging hand.
God's hand upon us also indicates His Spirit commissioning us. It is God giving Himself to us in a special way to fulfill a purpose for His glory. It is the acting power of God upon our lives. The hand of God is His sufficiency at a specific moment of need. Like my Olympic Gold Medal routine (*smile*), I was able to testify to my friends that it was God and God alone who provided for me that day in gym class.
In our very self-sufficient society, sadly the hand of God is often missed. We seek to be supplied and sustained by our own efforts, neglecting all opportunities to see God's provision. Ezekiel recognized the hand of the Sovereign LORD upon him and acknowledged His strengthening hand. Would we notice a touch from the Lord?
In 1921 a poem was written by Myra Brooks Welch that tells the story of an old, battered and broken violin that was being sold for a pittance as the final item at an auction. As the auctioneer began his, "Going once, going twice...", a violinist picked up the instrument and started to play so that everyone in attendance could hear its value. The auctioneer then resumed the bidding and the previous $3 sale increased to thousands. The author ends the writing by drawing the reader's attention to what made the change in price. It was the touch of the master musician's hand. The parallel is worthy to note. It is God's hand upon our lives that makes the difference as well.
Maybe today you are longing for "the hand of the Sovereign LORD" to come upon you. May the Master's hand touch your life providing whatever you most need in your current circumstances. Trust He can, and believe He will.
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