Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Dry Bones

In Ezekiel 37 the Holy Spirit took the prophet Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones, and God asked Ezekiel, "Human, can these bones live?"  He commanded Ezekiel to prophesy life to the dry bones.  On the journey of life God leads us to the mountain top and He also leads us to the valley.  The valley is symbolic of the low points in our lives. 

Ezekiel 37:11 says, "Then he said to me, Human, these bones are like all the people of Israel.  They say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope has gone.  We are destroyed."  The valley is a place of hopelessness and destruction, and because of our position in the valley our vision is obstructed.  We cannot see that God is sovereign and that His plan is perfect.  If He brings us to it, He will bring us through it.  

And He always brings us through it, but a lot times when He brings us out of that valley we leave some of dry bones behind.  These can be dreams, aspirations, ideas, inventions or relationships.  We leave them in the valley because we got discouraged because we were tired of carrying them, wondering when they would become manifest.  

Just as God asked Ezekiel, I pose the question, "Can these dry bones live?"  Of course, they can.  God will take you back to that valley to prophesy to them and bring them back to life.  Speak to those dry, dead dreams, aspirations, ideas, inventions and relationships, and command God's breath of life into them.  You don't have to wait for a "prophet" to show up. You can prophesy over yourself what the Lord has already promised you.  

Be encouraged.  Do what the word says, "So, prophesy and say to them, 'This is what the Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves.  Then I will bring you into the land of Israel.  My people, you will know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and cause you to come up from them. And I will put my Spirit inside you, and you will come to life.  Then I will put you in your own land. And you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and done it, says the Lord.'" (Ezekiel 37:11-14) And watch your dry bones come to life.