Struggling to Focus?
Do you ever have those moments when you’re struggling to focus? At work, in conversations, and even in prayer, your mind seems to be everywhere and nowhere at once.
Struggling to Focus
Recently, I was talking with a friend about this. We were both struggling to get anything done despite our best attempts. Instead of talking about our best productivity tips, we started talking about the unusual times that we’re living in.
It can be difficult to remain focused during times like these. What do you do when there are wars being waged, economic instability, natural disasters, and more happening in the world around us? How do we grapple with that in addition to everything happening in our personal lives?
Lessons from Ezekiel
In difficult times like these, I’m grateful for the stories of the Bible that show people persevering under even the most extreme of circumstances. Oddly enough, Ezekiel 1 is a chapter that I often return to when I’m in need of some comfort.
Ezekiel wasn’t just a prophet who saw incredible visions, but he was a man who was well acquainted with persevering in a time of tragedy. And in the midst of a place that he didn’t want to be, he still encountered God. I think that can be incredibly encouraging for us today.
“In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was on him.”
Ezekiel 1:1-3 (NIV)
Ezekiel’s Grief
The second verse says that “it was the fifth year of the exile.” I’m fortunate enough to have never been removed from my home. I’ve never had to flee to another country or been forced to relocate. But Ezekiel was. He and his people were forced to leave their homes and land and relocate to a place they never wanted to be. Everything was different now.
We may not have been exiled to another country, but I’m sure there are things in our lives that we can grieve. Maybe it’s a relationship that has changed or an opportunity that fell through. Maybe it’s grieving the state of the world today that is filled with so much violence, hatred, and inequity.
At the beginning of this chapter and our introduction to this incredible prophet, he was likely in a state of grief. But that didn’t disqualify him for what God called him to.
Ezekiel’s Unexpected Detour
The first verse of Ezekiel lets us know that he was 30 years old. This is a significant detail because that’s the age that a priest was able to take a more senior role in the priesthood (Numbers 4:3). The priesthood was something that these young men trained their entire lives for. They went through intense schooling to prepare for this role.
Ezekiel had been training nearly his entire life for this opportunity. Now, when he was of age for the priesthood, he was somewhere he never planned or wanted to be. He was in an unexpected and unwanted place. His life’s goal was seemingly dashed.
What detours have you taken in your life? Have you ended up in places you never expected or wanted to be? Even there, God is still present.
Related Post: 3 Steps to Take When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned
The Good News from Ezekiel’s Story
When we experience grief or unexpected detours, we aren’t alone. We aren’t abandoned by God, even though it might feel like it sometimes. Instead, God is still with us.
Ezekiel 1:3 says that God’s hand was on Ezekiel. In that place Ezekiel didn’t want to be, God was present with him.
And Ezekiel wasn’t passive in all of this; he was still looking for God even on this detour. Ezekiel 1:4 begins with “I looked,” and goes on to recount this fantastic vision that he saw that no one else did. Ezekiel was paying attention and looking for God, even in this place of devastation and grief.
Even When We Are Struggling to Focus, God is with Us
No matter what we’re going through right now or how we’re feeling, I believe that God is with each of us. He is aware of our situation and circumstance and has compassion on us. God meets us in those places of heartbreak and sorrow.
I pray that we would be like Ezekiel and become more aware of God’s presence. May we be those who acknowledge the situation and look for God in the midst of it. May we experience God’s goodness and grace in the midst of difficulty and freely share the hope we have in God with others.
Tragedy and difficulties come, but our powerful God is present in the midst of them. And that is good news indeed.
From the Desk of Heather Hart
Bible Besties
The stories of the people in the Bible aren’t so far removed from us that we can’t relate to them. In fact, their stories are often our stories.
In this 28-day devotional by Heather Hart, you’ll not only find Bible characters who went through some of the same things you’re facing in life, you’ll develop friendships (or kinships) you never expected.
