Exile…

Then the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your fellow exiles, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “They have gone far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.” Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. And the glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city, and stopped on the mountain east of the city. The spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.(Ezekiel 11:14-25 NRSV)

Have you ever had your heart set on something, a hamburger from a specific restaurant, or something that you could only get at a specific store, and when you got there you saw the sign… Sorry We’re Closed.

Have you ever been away from somewhere and you could not go back? Somewhere you left because you had to for whatever reason, but if you really had the choice you would have never left?

The verse above is a vision to those who were in exile from the promise land. They are God’s people and they were removed from their homeland and not able to return. But even in their bondage and exile, God still promises to be with them. And He reminds them that they are His people.

SO even when things seem dark, have faith that God is looking over you, and He is your God and you are His child. He is caring for you even when you can’t get what you want, God will always provide you with what you need.