Listen

The Lord God proclaims: I myself will take one of the top branches from the tall cedar. I will pluck a tender shoot from its crown, and I myself will plant it on a very high and lofty mountain. On Israel’s mountainous highlands I will plant it, and it will send out branches and bear fruit. It will grow into a mighty cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it and find shelter in the shade of its boughs.

Ezekiel 17:22-23

Think

This passage describes God lifting people up. The same people who have messed up. The same people who have ignored God. The same people who were oppressed and belittled. The same people who were considered insignificant by others. God lifted them up! Regardless of how far they may have felt from God, they weren’t too far to be reunited with God.

Sometimes it’s difficult to think that God can lift us up to a place of strength and influence. Maybe it’s because we feel so powerless or because we think we’re too young or small to make a difference in the giant world we live in. According to God, even a small piece of a young branch can be plucked and replanted, and that branch will grow into its own tree to bear its own fruit. We, too, are able to bear fruit. Ezekiel tells us that God has the ability to turn our seemingly tiny voice into a chorus.

Chris Wondree

Pray

God of redemption and growth, give me this day my daily bread so that I can live into the strength and endurance only you can provide. Amen.

Go

Go forth into the world in peace, knowing that the God who made you continues to love, keep, nurture, and grow you. Amen.