Ezekiel 12:1-6: Choosing Exile
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Just recently a friend in The Noontime Circle wrote about this reflection written on July 4, 2008. We offer it today as a Favorite . . .
There are times when we see that it is best for us to go into exile. There are moments when we realize that everything around us has little meaning which is lasting and true. We prepare our baggage, deciding what to jettison and what to keep. We look around at the rebellious house in which we have been living. And we step into the unknown which beckons.
There are times when we must leave behind family, friends, associates, anyone who draws us away from God. When we find ourselves among those with ears that do not hear and eyes that do not see, we put all that matters on our shoulders and we move on.
Yet we leave open the possibility that hearts may be softened, that stiff necks may be loosened. We remain open to the possibility that deaf ears may one day hear, and that the blind may one day see.
Often we leave hastily, stepping through the ruins of something that once held great promise. At other times we have the luxury of time to consider options, to make travel plans, to look ahead to examine what may be offered in our new home. Yet leave we must, for to remain in bitterness and to pine for something now lost is to misuse the gifts we are given.
There are times when it is best to go into exile. These are the moments when we know that our presence is ineffective and so we respond to the pull and call of something greater, something better, something truly quenching of our deep thirst. These are the times that we shoulder burdens with light hearts, with eyes alert to the newness, with ears listening for the beckoning we feel inside.
We choose exile rather than stagnation and bitterness. We choose fidelity rather than betrayal, trust rather than suspicion, and union rather than division.
There are times when it is best to go into exile. Let us go with joy in our hearts, words of hope on our lips, and an eagerness in our footsteps.
A re-post from January 29, 2012.
Image from: https://www.mosaicnorthafrica.com/why-desert-sunsets-are-more-beautiful/
For information about why desert sunsets are so beautiful, click on the image or visit https://www.mosaicnorthafrica.com/why-desert-sunsets-are-more-beautiful/
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