I Will

Ezekiel 36:24-32

1. I will take you out of the nations

2. I will gather you from all the counties

3. I will sprinkle clean water on you

4. I will cleanse you 

5. I will remove from you your heart of stone give you a heart of flesh

6. I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees

7. I will be your God 

8. I will save you from all your uncleanness

9. I will call for grain and make it plentiful

10. I will increase the fruit of the trees

Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.  

Reading the list above, I get the picture that we are stubborn people. Ten things God says He will do, and after those ten things, we will remember our evil ways. You would think we could remember our evil ways before the good Lord gets to ten, but no.

Have you ever been the last one to catch on? You know, that kid in class who is always asking dumb questions? That’s us without God in our lives. We are blind to our sinful ways without the Lord. When you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, I’ll bet you didn’t realize that He would start to reshape your heart. Those friends you had before you found Christ? Gone. Those sinful things you practiced before? No longer fun. This process is right out of the list of “I wills” from the verses above. Your heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh, sensitive to the Lord’s will and eager to flee from sin.

The real question is: do you remember your evil ways, and do you loathe your detestable practices? The Lord tells the Israelites in verse 32 that He is not doing this for their sake, but so they will be ashamed of their conduct. In other words, the Lord is gracious and kind, and He will go through ten “I wills” so that we can turn to Him. Logic and reasoning cannot define the grace of the Lord. If they could, we would reach the “then you will” after the first “I will.”

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

Prayer: Father, I am so blessed to have You live in my heart. You gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell inside us and to equip us for the work of the ministry. I pray that today I will begin turning away from sin, no matter what form it takes. I pray for strength and discernment in Jesus’ name. I pray for clarity and comfort in Jesus’ name. I thank You for the shield of faith that will extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one. I pray that I will pray in the Spirit at all times, so my mind can remain sharp to cast away the devil and his schemes from my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.