There is a profound statement here in Ezekiel’s oracle against Edom: “Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.” Edom pursued violence and therefore she was pursued by violence. Whatever you pursue consistently in life will end up pursuing you. If you pursue success out of a competitive and ambitious impulse, then the competition will pursue you and you will never be at rest. If you pursue fame, then fame will pursue you like a slave driver telling you that you are never good enough the way you are. If you pursue vengeance on someone who has hurt you, then vengeance will pursue you as you yourself hurt others. If you pursue a person as an object of desire, then that desire will pursue and torment you. If you pursue security in the possession of wealth, then the insatiable desire for more will pursue and possess you. But the opposite is also true. If you pursue goodness and love then, as the Psalm says, “surely goodness and love will follow [you] all the days of [your] life” (Psalm 23:6). If you pursue God, then God will pursue you (James 4:8). If you pursue blessing, then blessing will pursue you. Our lives are determined by what we desire and pursue. We ourselves are shaped by our desires. Always be conscious of what it is that you pursue and ask yourself what the outcome of that pursuit will be. Let your desires be shaped by the Holy Spirit as you yield to his desires.
Reflect on your pursuits and desires and ask God to shape your heart with his desires.
Read Ezekiel 35
