September 2, 2026 Devo

September 2nd, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn.” – Ezekiel 3:4-7 (NLT)
“Don’t Take It Personally”

One of the things that’s hard in doing God’s work is when people respond negatively. A lot of people have shared with me that they’ve worked hard for many years at their churches and never really felt appreciated for it. People have talked about how they gave their all to a task or a committee or a position, only to be criticized or ridiculed for it. Like many pastors, I’ve poured my heart out in messages on Sundays before, only to have someone pull me aside in the lobby to show me a typo in the bulletin or complain about some petty issue. It’s easy to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
If it’s for praise and applause, good luck with that. If it’s so people will think you’re wonderful, you might want to consult a psychologist. We’re dealing with PEOPLE. And people can be difficult, stubborn, narcissistic, and rude. This is true no matter who you are or how good you are at what you do. You can be the BEST representative of God and still have people throw it back in your face. You know how I know this? They did it to Jesus. He was PERFECT. And they ended up crucifying Him!
That’s why I love how God prepared Ezekiel in our passage today. As He sends him forth to do His work, God reminds Ezekiel of who he is going to be dealing with. People. And those people, in God’s words, are “hard-hearted and stubborn.” Ezekiel needed to know that his responsibility was simply to be obedient to God’s instructions. Then God said, “The people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me!” In other words, don’t take it to heart, Ezekiel. It’s not about you.
That’s my encouragement to you today. Do your job, follow your calling, and be obedient to what God has assigned you to do. But don’t let people get under your skin. People will be PEOPLE. Some will be mean. Some will be rude. Some will criticize and pick apart every little thing you do. But all of that is about THEM, not about you. Make sure whatever it is you’re doing, you’re doing it for God. No matter how bad you have it, keep one thought in mind. Jesus had it worse. That’s God’s Word for you today.