2015 dawns in a
few hours. January 1 is a reset point, a time to start anew. Restoration is one of God’s blessings for His
people. Because of His grace, we meet life with hope, overcome failure by His
strength, and discover life in the middle of death. Are you familiar with that vision of the valley of dry bones that
God gave to Ezekiel?
In the 37th
chapter, the prophet is led by the Spirit to a valley full of bones, bleached
and dried by the sun. Any semblance of life- gone. As he looks over this scene
of desolation, God asks him, "Can
these bones live again?" Impossible, right? Nothing is deader than dried out bones in the
desert. I would say, "The day for life in these bones is long since passed!
No, Lord, they won't live again." Ezekiel chooses a different response. "Lord God, only you can answer
that." (37:3) It's not exactly a statement full of faith, but he does
focus on the right Person! Sometimes that is all the faith we have, just enough
to allow for a possibility.
Now comes the
test. God said “Prophesy to these bones
and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the
Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will
come to life." (Ezekiel 37:4-5, NIV) “Preach to these bones, Ezekiel,” the Spirit
tells him. I wonder if he felt foolish speaking out loud to scattered
bones? But, in full obedience Ezekiel
spoke the improbable, into a situation
of the impossible. And as he spoke,
those bones rattled and moved! They assembled into skeletons, began to be
connected, then covered with flesh. As he continued to preach, the Spirit of
God swept over the valley of death and "breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a
vast army." (37:10)
That chapter is
not fiction or fantasy. It is an allegory, a story of amazing faith and I am
fascinated by the promise in it! God's
message to His people who were convinced that all hope was gone, was that He
can make things whole and new where no natural hope exists. Listen to what
they're saying: “Our bones are dried up,
our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.” (37:11) Ezekiel preached to
a nation that was beyond hope – so it seemed! But, God called him to obedience,
courage, and boldness; to bring back spiritual life to that 'dead' nation. It
was a work beyond anyone's natural ability.
Who can make
bones live again? Only God can raise the dead! "You, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your
graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will
live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the
LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.” Ezekiel 37:13-14
What seems
dead, beyond hope, to you?
Are your dreams
for the future, hopes to make a real difference, rattling around in your mind,
dried up and dead?
Is your church,
once alive with the Spirit, a place of skeletons and ghosts of things past?
Is your
spiritual life nothing but bones seeming dead to the Spirit of God?
In 2015 the
Spirit puts the question to us - "Can
these bones live?" They are
not condemning words of doubt, they are a challenge to greater faith. Let’s become
bold like the prophet,speaking the Words of life to a dead situation. "Dry
bones, hear the word of the LORD!" Nothing is so thrilling as
seeing God bring life back, breathing His life into a person, situation,
relationship, or church that is in the natural realm, beyond hope. So, hear the
Word of the Lord!
Here is a word
from the Word to ponder today. May it bring life to the dry places! “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the
rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without
watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for
the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve
the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:9-11, NIV)
The true power
of restored life, of renewal of all things, IS NOT found in our personality,
plans, or programs. "So he answered and said to me: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. "
(Zechariah 4:6, NKJV)
______________________
These are the days of Ezekiel,
The dry bones becoming as flesh;
And these are the days
Of Your servant David,
Rebuilding the temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are as white in the world,
And we are the laborers
In the vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord.
Behold He comes
Riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun
At the trumpet call;
Lift your voice,
It's the year of jubilee,
Out of Zion's hill
Salvation comes.
Days Of Elijah-
Mark, Robin- Integrity Music, Inc.© 1997
Daybreak Music, Ltd. (Admin. by Integrity Music, Inc.) CCLI License No. 810055
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