These Dry Bones
These dry bones...
brittle, bleached, weathered
Do you ever feel like you walked into the valley of daily life and struggles and the heat feels as if it is burning your flesh off? The heat of hurt, rejection, fear, loneliness, job loss, financial burdens, broken marriage, loss of hope? Do you feel that if you don’t get relief soon you will just be a mere skeleton of yourself...all your flesh stripped off?
In Ezekiel, the people of Israel were crying out to God saying “our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off”. They too were feeling the heat and angst we experience in this broken world.
As Ezekiel walked through the valley of dry bones, the Lord said to the bones “I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am God.” Ezekiel prophesied as the Lord commanded and those bones came to life. God brought them out of their graves and breathed new life into them giving them hope for the future. His desire is to breathe life into our dry bones so that we may live a life worthy of His name and calling. He says “I will put my spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle in your land.” Not only does God say he will breathe his spirit into our life giving our tired and weary bones new life, he also promises to go before us to fight our battles. He reminds us that the battle is not ours.
As I write this, I too have had to cry out to God to breathe life into my own dry bones that have been scattered on the valley floor. Bones dried up by the loss of a spouse, the loss of my first born son, broken marriages, addiction, deception, loss of relationships, financial struggles, loss of hope. I have watched God breathe life into these areas of my life over and over again. I have watched him bring beauty from ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. He say we will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. His desire is to breathe His life into you and into your family. Your struggles, your hurt, your pain, your dry bones.
Lay it down at the cross, I promise He won’t disappoint you.
Ezekiel 37:4-14
2 Chronicles 20:15-30
Jeremiah 29:11
Isaiah 61:3
Much love,
Chrissy