“And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 2:5 ESV).
Ezekiel was thirty years old when God called him to be a prophet. God cautioned him not to base his sense of success on how the people responded, but on whether he was obedient to speak the words God gave him.
We can’t control whether others “hear or refuse to hear,” but we can determine to obey and share God’s Word ourselves. God doesn’t call us to be successful. God calls us to be faithful. As the apostle Paul wrote, “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:7). We’re called to sow the gospel and water it, but only God can make it sprout and grow in people’s hearts.
I remember hearing Bill Bright speaking on witnessing when I was a college student. He said, “Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.”
Like Ezekiel, we have been called to speak whether they hear or refuse to hear. For Christ has commanded us to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
Yet thankfully, we were not given Ezekiel’s predicament. For God commanded him to speak, forewarning him that Israel would never listen (3:7).
PRAYER: Dear Father, strengthen us by Your Spirit to speak whether people hear or not. We confess that we often struggle with the desire to be people-pleasers rather than pleasing to You. Help us to bear witness of Jesus to everyone, leaving the results up to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.