The Power Of Surrender – David ShearmanSample

From Here to There

Ezekiel is not one of the easier-reading books of the Bible, yet it has spoken to me many times. At the beginning of chapter 40 Ezekiel makes the simple statement, “The hand of the Lord was upon me and he took me there.” God speaks to him and imparts invaluable advice: “Look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you.”

I believe in prophecy. For many years it has been my conviction that one of the most important ingredients in prophecy is not what we say, but what we see. It is what we hear and pay attention to when the hand of the Lord is upon us.

A couple of times Ezekiel uses the phrase “he took me there.” This intrigues me. What does it mean to you and me? As followers of Christ, we are all on a pilgrimage. We are journeying towards a destination God has purposed for our lives. Like Ezekiel, God will take us “there,” and there is not “here”! In order to get where God wants us in life, we have to cooperate.

Where is this mysterious place called “there”? It could be a place of new revelation (as it was for Ezekiel), a place of fulfillment, of promises realized, or a journey completed.

Your “there,” the place you desire to reach, might be a dream, a hope. Ultimately, for every Christ-follower, “there” is the place beyond death described as heaven. If you are consistent in praying “Not my will be done but yours, Lord” like Jesus did, then you can be certain that whatever is next for you, the Lord will take you there.

This is not fluffy, pie-in-the-sky language, but the language of the Gospel, which meets us where we are and sets about transporting us to a place of glory. What a dramatic, dynamic prospect – to live as sons and heirs, being all that God intends us to be; having all He intends us to have; doing all He purposes for us to do!

Be encouraged, because God has His hand upon you and He is working in your life to take you from “here” to “there.”