May 26

A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! And it will not be restored until the arrival of Him to whom it belongs, to whom I have assigned the right of judgment.’ — Ezek 21:27 BSB

Are there not seasons when we can lay down our souls before God and say, “Let Christ be precious to my soul, let Him come with power to my heart, let Him set up His throne as Lord and King, and let self be nothing before Him?” We utter these prayers in sincerity and simplicity, and we desire their fulfillment. But oh, the struggle, the conflict, when God answers these prayers! When our plans are frustrated, rebellion rises up in the carnal mind. When self is cast down, impatience and fretfulness bubble up from within. When the Lord answers our prayers and removes our false confidences, stripping away our rotten supports and dashing our broken cisterns, a storm brews within our souls.

We become angry with the Lord for doing the very work we asked Him to do, rebelling against His kindness in answering our petitions, and even resenting the very teachings we sought from Him. But He is unmovable in His purpose: “I will overturn,” says the Lord, “and bring the creature down to ruin.” But this overturning is not for destruction, not to cast us into eternal perdition, but to dismantle the idolatrous temple of self, to manifest His glory and salvation, and to establish Himself as our Lord and our God.