How do you know whether the hand of God is on your life and ministry? Ezekiel often stated, “The hand of the Lord was upon me” – so I looked and found a few answers in his book. Here are four occasions where we can see whether God’s hand is on us or not.
In Our Call to the Ministry
Ezekiel spoke of his call to become “a watchman over the house of Israel… the hand of the LORD was on me there” (Ezekiel 3:17).
The Bible also talks about the hand of God being on Samson, Elijah, Elisha, and all who were courageous in the face of their enemies. If the hand of God could be on these bold preachers, why not also on your life and mine? We may be different in many respects, but is God not the same yesterday, today, and forever?
“God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).
In the Fruitfulness of Our Ministry
When God puts His hand on our ministry, the Holy Spirit bears visible and invisible fruit. Although numerical growth is not the only scorecard for church health and growth, I believe there will be some evidence of kingdom growth in your ministry if God’s hand is on it.
When I have tried to serve without God’s hand anointing me, it is painfully futile. You may as well be preaching, teaching, or singing to a bunch of dry bones.
“The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me” (John 15:5).
With God’s hand on your ministry, even some of those skeletons in the pews will come to life (Ezekiel 37).
In Our Personal Revitalization
I’m sure Ezekiel would much rather have preached more on deliverance than judgment, but he stayed true to his calling. Frankly, the weight of his ministry sometimes wore him out. Imagine your worst day on the front lines of ministry…that was a normal day for Ezekiel.
“I am sending you to the rebellious pagans…do not be afraid of them or their words or be discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are rebellious” (Ezekiel 2:6,7).
I hear a lot about church revitalization, but very little about pastoral revitalization. Is it plausible to have one without the other? With such a difficult and lonely ministry, Ezekiel needed the hand of God to hold him up when he got down. So do we sometimes.
In Our Ability to Finish Strong
God’s people had been in captivity and without the hand of God’s blessing for so long that they had lost their song. “How can we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?” (Psalm 137:4).
Not only did Israel lose their song, but Ezekiel lost his sermon. God would not let Ezekiel speak for a season. I’ve been there, and it’s not fun. However, when God put His hand on Ezekiel again, he preached with great power and unction.
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He opened my mouth. . . . So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent” (Ezekiel 33:22).
This can happen to you, too! Personal and ministry revitalization is as possible today as it was in Ezekiel’s day. Take God by the hand right now and ask Him to rekindle the call and anointing on your life and ministry.
