Week 36: Detached
Weekly Chapters:
Ezekiel 23-42
Passage of the Week:
Ezekiel 34
Adjective
1. Separated
2. Disinterested
3. Not-involved
Thesaurus:
Isolated
Removed
Severed
Divided
Disengaged
Father God,
Father God, open my mind and heart to Your word. Give me the sense to accept Your message and absorb Your love this week. Help me understand where I can be unwilling to bend and accept Your blessing.
Amen
Authentic vulnerability:
There are times when I feel detached, removed from my family, my friends, my God. My desires come between the connections that fill and fulfill me. I let the stress in my life and render me useless, unable to give, unable to receive. I separate myself and yearn to “just be left alone.” Hiding behind my anger, my sadness, indifference. I retreat, runaway, escape. Then I feel lost, lonely, and insecure.
What is your Authentic Truth?
Study:
Our last week’s readings were about God’s judgment of the Israelites. This week is God’s judgment is centered on the assessment of the leaders of Israel.
In Ezekiel 34, God speaks of the leaders of Israel. He compares them to the shepherds (Verse 2). But he did not look at them as good shepherds but poor shepherds. God said that the leaders took advantage of the people, robbed them of their resources (like the sheep’s wool). They thought of themselves first by drinking the milk and butchering the best animals. The leaders let their people starve. The leaders disengaged from the flock (Verse 4) as they did not look for the sick and injured; they did not search for the lost; instead, they punished their sheep.
The leaders of Israel became detached from their people.
I do the same in my relationships; I become disengaged and detached. I become reclusive and do not interact with others, including my church community, citing several excuses. I pull away from my husband and do not give him the time he needs. Instead, I pursue selfish interests.
I know why this happens; I overfill my life, fail to say no to things I am not meant for. I overcrowd my life so that there is no room for my husband, family, and God. I get fat and happy doing rather than being.
Your reasons may be different. You may feel overwhelmed, full of sorrow or depression, feel overly stressed, all of which rob you of human connection.
Whatever the reason, God is our example of the good shepherd. In Ezekiel 34:11, God says that he will find his sheep. He will bring them back to him; He will offer us recovery, rest (Verse 14).
God is our strength if we allow Him. God is our shepherd, our leader, our refuge. God is safety and stability, our shepherd.
My over-commitment, insert your crutch here, are not ordered by God. God wants us to be with Him and rest with him at his feet, led by him—if we only let him. From disengagement to engagement in God, our good shepherd.
Father God,
You find the words to speak to me in words I can understand. I need Your guidance, Your love, and Your support. Only through You, God, can I indeed find peace. I want to follow You, my shepherd.
Amen.
Homework:
· Identify what is holding back from fully engaging with God and with your family.
· Identify a plan to help remove any obstacles holding you back.
· Go to church, find time with God, pray.
· If you cannot remove what holds you back, seek professional help
