Ezekiel was a prophet, sent to the people of God at a time when there was tremendous change and turmoil.

The leading superpower of the world changed three times in about 20 years.

Super powers in those days did not just dominate economically, they dominated in every way.

Smaller nations found themselves not knowing who to turn to for support.

Ezekiel was told that all the turmoil they were experiencing was a result of them walking away from God.

They still thought they were good people, they even believed in God; they just did not care to live the way He wanted them to live.

Ezekiel was sent to call people to return to God and to trust and serve him in good times and bad.

We are also living in a time where people, good people, even people who believe in God do not really care to live the way He calls us to live.

We are living in a time of change, as well, and many do not know who to turn to.

Why is life like this?

I think it is because although we all desperately need God, we tend to want to do life on our own terms. We want to get our own way in everything and in every relationship.

If we start a relationship with God, we know it won’t be that way. God will want to be God in the relationship. He will call us to love Him and other people as much as we love ourselves (Matt 22:37-40).

So even though “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28), we want to be in control.

So we find reasons not to listen to God, even while we claim to believe in Him.

Jesus described us in Matt 11:16-19: “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

It does not matter how God approaches us. He still has to overcome our tendency to ignore Him. He still has to overcome our desire to get our own way.

There is good news though: God is committed to helping us hear. God is committed to helping us find Him.

In Acts 17:26-27, we are told that God determined when you would live and where you would live to give you the best opportunity to seek God.

His desire is that people might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

So if you are experiencing good times or bad times, they are meant to cause you to seek after God.

If you are still committed first and foremost to getting your own way in life and relationships then you really need to find Him.

• Greg Shellborn is pastor at Maple Ridge Vineyard.