For God’s Sake!

Have you ever heard anyone say this?  Unfortunately, it is usually used as almost a “curse word”; certainly often in a way that takes God’s name in vain.  It is usually said out of frustration..often when someone does something that the person saying “For God sake” finds wrong or foolish or offensive.  But that is not always the way the words are used.  In Ezekiel God is describing how He is going to restore the nation of Israel…giving them a heart of flesh instead of stone, birthing in them a desire to follow and serve Him.  Why is God going to do this?  We get a glimpse of why in Ezekiel chapter 36:  2 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.  

God isn’t going to renew them for their sake but for His sake.  God is going to bring them back to Him and use their obedience as a testimony to the other nations where they were poor examples for God…so that the people in those nations might turn to God.  I find this very interesting and in a way, comforting as well.  When God is at work in my life it is not for my sake or my benefit.  It is for His sake.  God’s activity is so much broader than my little world or your little world.  God’s actions and activities are never solely intended for us…in fact, it is rarely ever about us…it is about Him!  Would you rest and trust in those words of His to Israel in Ezekiel?  As God is working in your life, whether it be in a way you desire or another way, would you trust Him?  He has a purpose far beyond you and that purpose is good.