Son of Man, Stand Up!

"And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me." - Ezekiel 2:1-2


All too often, we look at God as someone we run to only when we are in our greatest need. When we are desperate, when we are lonely - when we have run out of options and have no idea where else to turn, it is then that we look to God and say "Father, please help me!" Don't get me wrong - this is a fine time to turn to Him. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that the Lord can work good through all things, and the Lord can and will rescue you from even the most hopeless of situations. Not only can He do this, but He is always merciful, willing to love you even at your most unloveable.


The problem is that we try to take advantage of this. At other times in life, when we are feeling the joys of love, the highs of success, or even when we feel the comfort of stillness, we forget that God is, even then, who we must to turn to for our daily strength. It is not enough to run to Him in times of great distress. We cannot treat our Holy Father like a vending machine, punching the right buttons when we need a quick fix, something to stave off the effects of our sin. To do this is to completely demean the character and position of God. It could even be argued that to do this is to try to put ourselves in a position above Him. We recognize His power to change our lives, to rescue us from circumstances that seem insurmountable, yet we treat it as though we have the right to call on the power of God whenever we feel the need. The very power that created dust from nothing, and man from dust, we try to wield like magic.


We must not look to the world for our daily needs! We must not believe that we can rely on the power of others, and rely on ourselves, for the strength to get up and get through every day. Man is completely broken, completely unable to sustain life, and if we try to continue like this, we will one day be tragically let down. Without the power of Christ in me, I will let you down. Without the power of Christ in you, you will let me down. We cannot sustain each-other! 


God called Ezekiel to be a prophet for Him, asked him not only to speak judgement to a very rebellious people, but also to bear judgement on their behalf. But it was not only in this task that Ezekiel needed the Spirit to strengthen and guide him. In order to stand up and receive the words of the Lord - in order to stand up at all! - Ezekiel needed the Holy Spirit to fill him and put him on his feet. He was completely humbled before God, facedown in worship and awe, and it was then that God filled him with the Spirit, stood him up, looked him square in the face, and spoke to him as a loving father. "Son of man", he called him - the very same term used to describe Jesus in the New Testament. God loves the Spirit-filled man, but one cannot be truly Spirit-filled without first being called by the Lord. And one cannot truly hear the call of the Lord without first submitting and humbling themselves before Him. 


So let us not try to stand on the strength of man, but instead let us bow before our Creator, and let Him who loved us before the creation of the world sustain us. Let us be filled with the Spirit, and stand with the strength of the Lord!