And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 2:6,7 ESV)
When we have a task, we commonly fear failure. Ezekiel was told to bring God’s Word to the people. And apparently, he had two reactions. First, he figured he was not going to succeed. And second, he was afraid.
Ezekiel was making a mistake we often share. He misunderstood his task. He was not sent by God to change the minds and hearts of God’s people. He was (only) sent to present God’s Word to them.
That’s still a big task. God’s Word can be complicated. And the importance of bringing God’s Word makes it a heavy burden.
But God doesn’t expect Ezekiel to succeed. Ezekiel cannot change anyone’s heart. Only the Spirit of God can do that. God doesn’t demand (of Ezekiel) that the Jews in exile (Ezekiel’s audience) become loyal, obedient, or righteous. God only asks Ezekiel to speak. To say what God tells him. To do the job in front of his face.
And so he was afraid. Ezekiel was afraid of failing. Ezekiel was afraid of finding that the people actually grew worse. Ezekiel was afraid of disappointing God.
Today, it seems like we are losing the culture war. It seems like we are losing the war of worldviews. It seems like we are losing debates that Christianity used to win. It seems like the church’s bringing of God’s Word is becoming more ineffective.
But those are no reason to fear and freeze. We are walking through briers and thorns. We sit on scorpions. But the words of God’s enemies have no power. They are lovers of lies. And we have the truth.
Our job is not to change America back. Our job is not to fix the world. We have a simpler task.
We need to (get to) speak God’s Word. Any fancy arguments won’t change anyone’s heart. (A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.) Any passionate presentation won’t return America to the faith of our grandfathers. We don’t have the ability or power or knowledge or wisdom to accomplice those BIG things.
But we can speak God’s Word.
That is where hope for the hopeless is found. That is what the Holy Spirit uses to alter hearts. That is what GOD will use to do what HE wants in the world.
Fear not, speak God’s Word.