An Encounter with The Lord

In the opening 3 verses of Ezekiel’s prophecy, we read that

1. The heavens opened
2. He saw a vision of God
3. The Word came to Him expressly
4. The hand of the Lord was upon Him

LIFE CHANGED: We might understand why someone’s life would never be the same after such an encounter. How could it be? During a Christian’s life there should be certain pivotal times where we had personal and pivotal encounters with the Lord. This is what we find in the narrative of the scriptures.  We read the accounts of those who were touched, changed, called and used by God. They came face to face with grace and knew they were in God’s presence. Think of Moses at the burning bush, Paul on the Damascus Road, Hagar at the well, Gideon under the Oak, the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus, Mary Madeleine at the Tomb, or Jacob at Bethel. Yes, those encounters were very different in some ways, but we find certain common denominators in them all.  They may not have been regular or repeated experiences, but moments on their timeline that they would remember forever. As we often reflect on those times we find renewed assurance, strength and direction. In our hearts we often go back to that meeting place and are refreshed in our decisions to follow the Lord. Like the light that hits the film in a camera for a moment, there is a picture that remains forever.

WE WERE IN HIS PRESENCE: We may face times of drought, ah but we look back to the wilderness of Bethel, where the ladder descended from heaven and God spoke to our heart. That barren place became the very gate of heaven and the house of the Lord for us! We may have to face a “Goliath of a trial”, but we remember the anointing horn of Samuel and the new songs that God gave us,  and are once again assured He is with us in the battle. We may face times of doubt or fear, but, like Peter, we can remember that day at Galilee when the boats almost sank for the catch of fish. Many might explain that away as a strange or lucky phenomena, but we know that we know that we know, that we were in the very presence of God and He touched us with grace.

SEEK HIM LIKE NEVER BEFORE: There should be times we can all look back to when there was a major encounter in our life or perhaps several such encounters where our lives were changed and turned forever. If we do not have those times to look back on, then may we, like Elisha (2 Kings 2:4) take a hold of Elijah’s mantle, strike the water and cry “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”. Take a hold of The Lord, like Jacob did, (Gen 32:26) and not let go until He blesses you and leaves your heart burning.

May we all be able to look back on those times when the heavens opened, we had a vision of The lord, His word came to us expressly and His hand was upon us.