“Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’
“They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:16-20
Through the challenges, and sometime even the mere routines of life, we can feel in exile.
Where is refreshment, Lord?
Even in winter months, the short days, little sun, can have a tiring, isolating effect on us.
What happens when you feel in spiritual exile? You’re trying to navigate spiritual waters, go in the direction the Lord wants for you, but you feel scattered, alone, looking for refreshment and renewal from the Lord?
That’s why I love the beginning verse here.
God used a historical example to teach us about his character. The Lord Himself says He sent the Israelites far away among the nations, and that He scattered them among the countries. While He gave them sanctuary in those countries, the people needed a fresh start. They needed to be made new. And so the Lord promised that He would bring them back to the land of Israel again. But, this time, he would give them an undivided heart, a new spirit, and a new heart.
Last week, I shared about how the people of Israel cried out to God in Egypt, and God heard their prayers. What is the difference hundreds of years later? It is not recorded that God heard their cries. It is not recorded that God sent a man to gather them together. No, it is not even recorded that there were powerful miracles that took place.
But God knew and heard what was in the hearts of His people. Paul shares, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26, 27
God knew His people needed to be brought out of exile. He knew they needed to be given a new spirit and a new heart. He knew that only with this “newness” would the Israelite people follow His decrees.
God could save them, transform them, and show them to be His.
I find this so encouraging. Once again, the Israelites had one thing to do….be willing.
The Israelites had to desire God and be willing to renounce their heart of stone.
They had to leave the places of exile and journey back to the land. For some, exile had been so long, they had never known their true home. That didn’t matter. It was their spiritual home. And though they had been born elsewhere, they knew that the exiled places they lived was not their own.
How does that translate to us today?
Well, our true home is not here. We are pilgrims with true citizenship in heaven.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20, 21
So, we, too, can feel exiled, just as the Israelites did.
Even as we pilgrim here, daily challenges, even routines can make us feel farther away from God. Though we haven't seen Him, we love Him. We desire Him.
We are willing.
So, we set out. We begin the journey to Him, to peace, to be transformed, be made new.
And our loving Father, our gracious God, gives us His promise: “our light a momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17
As God’s daughters, we must remember that we don’t only receive a new spirit and a new heart, we are an entirely new creation!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5: 17-20
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day…..”
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
We are Out of Exile.
Being created in Christ Jesus, being found in Him, and living our lives hidden in Him, we are daily being transformed into His likeness.
And as Christ’s followers, no matter where we are in our spiritual journey, we must remember his promises. We must hold fast the truth that it is our God who transforms us.
He is renewing us day by day.
Hold to His promises and remember that our God can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine!
