The Ballestero Blog

“The Desire Of His Eyes.”

Ezekiel had been given a word from the Lord, to speak to Israel. The painful part of this story is found in the twenty-forth chapter. The “desire of his eyes,” his wife, lay dead in his house. Yet, God commanded him to preach anyway.

“The Desire Of His Eyes.”

What a beautiful description of a man’s feeling for his wife. “The desire of his eyes.” She was the love of his life. One look at her, always made his heart skip a beat. He truly loved her. Looking at her made his eyes happy and fulfilled.

Every day, when Ezekiel was gone from the house, he couldn’t wait until he got home to see her. His eyes never got tired of looking at his wife. She must have been something to see!

Sadly, we do not even know her name. We have no description of her. Nothing is known of her, except that she was the desire of her husband’s eyes. Surely, she never had to worry about him looking at another woman. He only had eyes for her.

Experiencing Pain In The Midst Of Ministry.

Knowing that his beloved wife was dead, Ezekiel knew he still had to preach. She was dead! What utter devastation he felt! His heart never felt emptier. The light in his eyes had just gone out. His plans had just died, in the mid-stride of life. There was no time to grieve, now. No time to be comforted, now. There was a word from the Lord that had to be delivered, now.

Grief would have to wait till church was over. This was not the time to sob in sorrow like he wanted to. He put his focus and thoughts upon the work of God at hand.

In spite of his pain, he preached. Ignoring his own heartbreak, he continued on with his sermon. Forgetting, for the moment, that he was now a widower, he preached what God told him to preach. He knew that his world must always be submitted to God’s world.

All of Israel would have understood the need of Ezekiel’s emotions, to take some time off and mourn. Grief always needs time. No one would have faulted him, if he had asked to stay home from church that day. But he didn’t.

There was no one to comfort him. No arms of compassion were wrapped around him. No one offered to, “Hold him up in prayer.” He’d never felt lonelier.

Nevertheless, there was a word from God that Ezekiel must preach. It could not wait. It must not wait. His pain was secondary to Heaven’s mission. He must preach!

He must preach, in spite of his pain. He must preach, in spite of his loss. He must preach, even though the “desire of his eyes” lay dead. And he did preach.

He preached without letting his tears flow. He preached without soliciting comfort. He preached without mentioning his grief. He preached while his darling wife lay dead in his bed. He preached on, without complaining.

Ezekiel 24:24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel’s example became a sign unto his generation and to us all. He was an example of putting the work of the Lord first. God’s call came before his own personal pain.

Life is not fair. It never has been. Life has tears, and much grief. It is too often filled with overwhelming pain. But we must go on. God still has work to do. Do not disqualify yourself from His service because your pain and sorrow is great. Serve Him in spite of life’s heart breaks. Ezekiel is our sign, our example.

The Desire Of Our Eyes

The saints of God have a precious hope! We press on, just waiting for Him to split the Eastern Sky! There is coming a day when we shall look upon Him, “The Desire Of Our Eyes!” Oh, What a day that will be! The old saints used to sing songs like:

Oh I Want To See Him

Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face,
There to sing forever of His saving grace;
On the streets of glory let me lift my voice,
Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.

When We See Christ

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.

What A Day That Will Be

What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Is Jesus The Desire Of Your Eye’s?