I am reading Ezekiel. I believe God told me to read it, so I did. I keep reading it and wondering why God asked me to read it now. It is one of those books full of God telling Ezekiel to tell Israel what He is going to do because of their sin. Last night I read something that jumped off the page.
Ezekiel 20:10 says, "I acted out of who I was, not by how I felt..." (The Message) The verse goes on, but this was the part that jumped out at me. Do you know who is talking here? God! He was saying He didn't destroy Israel because of His promises, regardless of His feelings about their sins. He said this four times in this chapter. They worshipped idols, despised His laws, desecrated the Sabbath, offered their first born as sacrifices to idols, among other things.
They gave Him plenty of reasons to be angry. It doesn't say that God wasn't angry. He was! God still felt the anger. He didn't say being angry was wrong. The Scriptures say to not sin when angry. I have heard people say that anger is wrong. Well, if it is those people might need to tell that to God.
But God acted out of who He is not His feelings of anger. I'm a woman. I have emotions. Sometimes those emotions are out of whack. Sometimes they are overwhelming. Sometimes I let them rule me. Okay, maybe more than sometimes. But I can act out of who I am and not how I feel.
Who am I? God's workmanship - Ephesians 2:10, His child - John 1:12, chosen by God - Ephesians 1:4, a precious jewel - Malachi 3:17, a new creation - 2 Corinthians 5:17, and I am loved 1 John 3:3. I could go on and on.
Well, I am annoyed with some people, really annoyed. I still feel angry at them. I wanted them to know I am angry. My passive aggressiveness wanted me to let them know. Then I remembered what I read last night, "I acted out of who I was, not how I felt..." So I decided I could react, let my emotions lead me, or I could act out of who I am. Am I still angry? Yes. Will I let myself react? I am trying really hard to learn the lesson I believe God showed me last night. I am trying to act out of who I am, not how I feel.
3 comments:
Trying this out....hopefully it works.
That is an interesting translation of Ezekiel 20:14. We have been talking alot about knowing God's heart which is obviously much more than emotions. I will spend some time meditating on this = Who He is!
Thanks for sharing Kim.
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