In life there are times where life will bring us things that are difficult to swallow. I was choking on the fact that yes, I always wanted more children, but I wanted a husband too. We were a package deal. I was married and my husband was about to leave me. I struggled to swallow the fact that once I was a mother before marriage and now, I had two additional sons and was about to be a single mother, again. This was not my fairytale. It wasn’t supposed to end like that.
I had invested so much and was fighting for my family and generations. How could my story end like this? One of my favorite stories in the word is when the mother brought her two sons to Jesus before his crucifixion. She asked him could one sit on the right and the other on the left side of him in his kingdom. He asked her could they drink his cup? In my words, he was asking, were they willing to swallow the bitterness and suffer like he was about too? He quickly let her know they wouldn’t drink “it” but “from” it. You must be willing to swallow even when it’s bittersweet.
God has a prepared place for all of us. From the time of our births, we are wrestling to figure out what that purpose is. And with that assignment, there is a cup of suffering and blessings, we must be willing to swallow. Let’s see how Ezekiel managed his assignment when he was told he had to swallow and eat the whole scroll.
Ezekiel 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
Notice how sweet his assignment started out at first. It was sweet as honey. Some of us are seeking mates and the relationship started out as sweet as honey and then sometimes some things can become bitter to accept. The business took off and now it is the most demanding thing in which you have invested your time. Or you did IVF treatments and had the hardest time having a baby. That baby was so adorable, sweet, and now, that baby is in and out of jail, didn’t finish school and struggling on drugs. All these things start out sometimes as sweet as honey, but we begin to struggle when it becomes bitter. We must be willing to swallow the whole scroll and not abandon the assignment.
God told Ezekiel no matter how rebellious they were, God promised he would harden him against their rebellion to withstand it. He also let him know his consequences if he didn’t obey him and warn them. Ezekiel was called to a rebellious house and The Lord let him know they would NOT listen to him because they didn’t listen to him.
In our assignments, we cannot take our attacks personally. At times, it will be bittersweet, but we must be willing to swallow the whole scroll. And by verse fourteen we see how quickly what started out sweet turned bitter.
14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.
Everything won’t always be sweet but God will be with you.
I received so many prophetic words from the age of 18 years to now 52 years old and many have happened. They were sweet to my soul, but to receive the fulfillment, many have been bitter things for me to swallow to obey God. So, God wants us to know to obey Him, we must be willing to swallow and eat the whole scroll. Our assignments at times will be sweet and bitter but we cannot reign with Jesus if we are not willing to also suffer with Him. Be of good cheer and know that Jesus has already overcome the world. We must warn the wicked like Ezekiel, so their blood is not on our hands even if they reject the truth as he was told. We deliver our own souls when we obey God, accept our assignment and are willing to eat the whole scroll and swallow.