Hear What I Say Unto Thee

Jan 28, 2025

But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thou bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Ezekiel 2:8-10; 3: 1-5

Following an outline on the book of Ezekiel, scriptures keep catching my attention to what God has said unto me. Studying on and off about how his sheep hear his voice as well. In October 2023, I was led to the book of Ezekiel. Just curiously opening up to look at prophecies, feeling like we are near end times, I thought I needed a better understanding of Ezekiel's prophecies. Instead, God led to an amazing opening of my understanding of scripture; it felt like I was on the road to Emmaus. God showed me that his word doesn't say he will do something in vain, then showed me my prayer life was praying in vain, not expecting him to answer, not thinking he could do the things I prayed for. That was another story, probably the most spirit-filled time in my life.

As I visit these scriptures again, thinking about end times, I am still drawn to God's voice. I hear through God's spirit that teaches me about His voice. I hear:

Mike, hear what I say unto you. Open your mouth and eat that which I give thee. I see the scriptures that God gives us; I see the written word of God. I see the stories in His word, where there were lamentations. I see my spiritual battles, my spiritual struggles, my spiritual mournings, my woes. When I hear "...eat that thou findest; eat this roll," I hear scripture that says in Deuteronomy, "...man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." As I walk through trials, as I open up scriptures to read, searching for God's will in my life, I hear, "Eat this scripture, eat this word of God." Eat until my belly is full, my bowels are full with "...this roll that I give thee." When at times, I heard what God said to me through His spirit, "...and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me" (Ez. 3:14).

Those words "... I went in bitterness," hit me hard. I still hear that voice that started with "Get up," and I answered, "I can't, it is over, I have nothing left to give." Then he said it again, and I answered the same. Then on the third time hearing it, it was like God found that little boy in me who used to play basketball, and it sounded like the only thing left in me was hearing my old coach running us through exercises. I don't know how he reached me, but I did get up, and I did go. I went in bitterness, saying to God, "This is not going to work." I reached a point where I then said, "See, it didn't work." When everything was completely gone in me, when I was finished, then God showed me, stepped in with His grace. I experienced, "...my grace is sufficient." That is another amazing story; hopefully, I will find a way to tell it someday.

Thank you, God, for helping me to eat thy words. Like a child not liking the taste of vegetables that are good for them, I ate them as bitterness, but they turned into "... in my mouth as honey for sweetness."