The Unseen Strength of Pastors: A Devotion Inspired by Ezekiel
Ezekiel 24:18
So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
All of us have heard the expression in times of crisis, “Life moves on!” Oh, how true it is! No doubt all of us can relate to this inconvenient truth at least to some degree. The worker knows all too well how that even when he is no longer able to work, the bills keep coming in just the same. Parents understand that even when they are inadequate to provide for their children, the demands of doing so never stop. The grieving widow, who prefers time to grieve before going back into the “real” world, understands that this IS the real world, and that she must pull herself together and keep moving regardless of the emotional trauma she just experienced. We could go on and on, but you get the idea.
Having said all of this, may I suggest to you that there is one who is never more vulnerable to this kind of reality, and sometimes with little or no consideration of the same, and that is the pastor! You see, the pastor is one who not only lives in a real world with real problems, just like everyone else, but who also helps bear the burdens of those whom he pastors.
I think our selected text illustrates this reality in the ministry as well as any passage in the Word of God. Here, Ezekiel having lost his wife, never skips a beat to continue to do as he has been instructed by his Heavenly Father, who called him into the ministry. It is not that he is super-human, or that he is immune to the emotional toll such an event would have on anyone else; he simply goes on anyway. Amidst the pain, the doubts, the confusion, the stress, the anxiety, and the loss, he simply has no choice but to continue in his calling.
Unfortunately, many are under the impression that their pastors never have a problem. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth! Pastors have problems; they simply do not have the luxury of sharing most of them with their congregations.
Today, I salute every pastor reading this for your deep level of commitment and admiration for our Lord and Savior, as demonstrated by your faithful service to Him, in season and out of season! May the Lord snuggle up close to you today, bottle up your tears, and whisper in your ear that He will hold you through once again!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
All of us have heard the expression in times of crisis, “Life moves on!” Oh, how true it is! No doubt all of us can relate to this inconvenient truth at least to some degree. The worker knows all too well how that even when he is no longer able to work, the bills keep coming in just the same. Parents understand that even when they are inadequate to provide for their children, the demands of doing so never stop. The grieving widow, who prefers time to grieve before going back into the “real” world, understands that this IS the real world, and that she must pull herself together and keep moving regardless of the emotional trauma she just experienced. We could go on and on, but you get the idea.
Having said all of this, may I suggest to you that there is one who is never more vulnerable to this kind of reality, and sometimes with little or no consideration of the same, and that is the pastor! You see, the pastor is one who not only lives in a real world with real problems, just like everyone else, but who also helps bear the burdens of those whom he pastors.
I think our selected text illustrates this reality in the ministry as well as any passage in the Word of God. Here, Ezekiel having lost his wife, never skips a beat to continue to do as he has been instructed by his Heavenly Father, who called him into the ministry. It is not that he is super-human, or that he is immune to the emotional toll such an event would have on anyone else; he simply goes on anyway. Amidst the pain, the doubts, the confusion, the stress, the anxiety, and the loss, he simply has no choice but to continue in his calling.
Unfortunately, many are under the impression that their pastors never have a problem. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth! Pastors have problems; they simply do not have the luxury of sharing most of them with their congregations.
Today, I salute every pastor reading this for your deep level of commitment and admiration for our Lord and Savior, as demonstrated by your faithful service to Him, in season and out of season! May the Lord snuggle up close to you today, bottle up your tears, and whisper in your ear that He will hold you through once again!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill