Ezekiel 17:22-24 (NRSV)
Read Ezekiel 17:22-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 22Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. Verse 23On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. Verse 24All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.
Devotion
Some days, I feel like the little sprig that is being broken off the top of the cedar in our reading for today. I feel tender, small and insignificant. I wonder why God has chosen me for a task I feel so totally unworthy of and unprepared for. Why me, God? What are you going to do with little old me?
And so I begin the task I feel called to do, still feeling like the worst person for the job. But after a few minutes—or hours, or days even—I find myself humming while I work. After a few months, I am looking forward to the task. As I look back on a year, I can see some great things that have happened under my care!
Prayer
You know best, God. You took a spindly little sprig like me and planted me into your perfect plan. Because you have nurtured me, I have grown and now I bear fruit for you.
You are indeed the Lord. Speak your purpose to my heart and I will accomplish it through me.
Amen.