Unwavering Trust
“Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.”
Ezekiel 3:11 (NASB) Beloved Christian, Many times in our lives, we are brought into moments we did not anticipate—seasons we did not plan and would not have chosen. Yet these moments are often the very places where the Lord moves His people into a deeper posture of trust. They remind us of a fundamental truth: it is the Lord alone who orders our steps.
Scripture tells us that man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. This does not mean that God is the author of our sin—we remain fully responsible for our choices and actions. Rather, it means that the Lord of hosts, in His sovereign wisdom, governs even the paths that lead His people through dark valleys. He walks with them there, shaping them and conforming them to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
From the moment of regeneration, God ordains not only our salvation but our sanctification, unfolding our growth according to His design rather than our control. Though the human heart clings to self-reliance, the Lord teaches His people to rest in His sovereign grace, for as the lilies of the field are clothed by God without toil or striving, so He will surely care for those He has redeemed by the blood of His Son.
The call of Ezekiel provides a powerful illustration of this truth. Ezekiel was born into a priestly family, a calling determined not by personal choice but by divine ordinance under the Mosaic Law. Humanly speaking, his life was set on a clear path—service in the temple of Jerusalem. Yet Judah’s persistent rebellion against God altered everything. The nation turned to idolatry, forsook the covenant, and hardened its heart. As a result, the Lord brought judgment through the Babylonian conquest. Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple burned, and the people were carried into exile far from their homeland.
Ezekiel was carried away into exile and would never serve in the priestly office for which he was trained. Instead, God appointed him with a heavier charge: “Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’” This was not a lesser calling but a weightier one.
But the Lord did not leave Ezekiel in his finite weakness for such a calling. He came to him in an overwhelming, life-altering vision, humbling the prophet before His glory, and then commanded him to eat the scroll of His words—showing that the message of God must first be received inwardly before it is proclaimed outwardly. The prophet was not to speak from emotion, opinion, or cultural instinct, but from a heart and mind saturated with divine truth.
The command itself is striking: “Speak to them whether they listen or not.” Faithfulness, not results, was the measure of obedience. Ezekiel was not responsible for the response of the people, but he was responsible for proclaiming what the Lord had said. God appointed him as a watchman—one accountable to warn, not to persuade by human strength.
This calling remains instructive for believers today. We live in a time that seems to be marked by religious formalities that have led to spiritual shallowness. Many profess faith, yet few examine it. Scripture is often referenced but rarely studied. As doctrine is neglected in favor of sentiment, biblical illiteracy grows, and many are left unable to distinguish truth from error.
Mark the man of faith in the early seventeenth century: lacking modern comforts, he rose before dawn with a candle lit, meditating on God’s Word before laboring in the fields. He stored Scripture in his heart to guard him from sin. This was one of the marks of true Puritan Christianity—a faith woven into ordinary life, sustained not by fleeting emotion, but by a growing knowledge of Christ, where true transformation came through the renewing of the mind.
The diligent study of God’s Word is not optional; it is essential. Through Scripture we come to know God’s character, His redemptive purposes, and His covenant faithfulness, and there we behold His love most clearly displayed— when He poured out the full cup of His righteous wrath upon His Son, Jesus Christ, in the scourging, the pierced hands and feet, the crown of thorns, and the crimson blood shed for sinners.
This knowledge produces wisdom, wisdom fosters discernment, and discernment strengthens perseverance. As believers grow in understanding, they are less easily swayed by cultural pressure and false teaching and more firmly anchored in truth. This growth also produces courage. Like Ezekiel, there will be moments when standing on biblical truth invites mockery, rejection, or isolation. Faithfulness to Christ has never guaranteed approval. Yet believers are called to speak the truth in love, trusting that God will use His Word according to His purposes—even when it is resisted.
When rejection comes, the believer looks to Jesus Christ. The Savior Himself was despised and rejected, yet remained obedient unto death. From the cross, He prayed for those who mocked Him, demonstrating that faithful witness is marked not by bitterness, but by love grounded in truth.