In my quiet time, I was reading Ezekiel 37 which begins with Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones. It is far more than a vision because Ezekiel is literally taken up by the Lord to see and experience an awesome work of God in the spiritual realm. The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ (Ezekiel 37:1-3)
As I read, the Lord spoke to me about the valleys we find ourselves in, sometimes out of the blue. We don’t always realise that we are spiritually dry but may suddenly feel as if all our hope, joy and life has drained away. Deep disappointment, physical struggles or emotional pain can all pull us down into that deep valley.
The Lord showed me that he laid his hand on Ezekiel and took him into that place of lowness and dryness because he wanted him to see what was happening.The Spirit of God led Ezekiel back and forth through the valley and he saw the bones close at hand and realised how dry they were.
I felt he was asking us the question: ‘Will you let me show you the areas of your life that are like those dry bones?’
It can be scary to look honestly at what is going on in our innermost lives and to recognise the things that are humanly dead. But this is a story of great hope and encouragement. God didn’t just want Ezekiel to see the bones but to partner with him for an incredible miracle, the bones to be restored to life. He asked Ezekiel: ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And Ezekiel’s response seemed to open the door for God to start his work of restoration: ‘O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’
What is my response to God when things seem impossible? To be honest, if I’m struggling, I’m inclined to react with some scepticism to the suggestion that God can do something amazing. Ezekiel knew that humanly there was no way those bones could live but he responded out of the eternal truth that God can know and do things that are humanly impossible. Ezekiel’s was the simplest response, but showed that his focus was squarely on God, not the circumstances. He didn’t know what God would do or could do, but he trusted that God alone knew the answer.
I find myself asking, are my ears open to the challenging questions that God might want to drop into my spirit? And what would my response be? The interesting thing is that as soon as Ezekiel replied, ‘only you can know.’ God drew him in to partner with him in the miracle of new life: Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’
God is saying today: Nothing is impossible for me. I want to show you those areas in your heart that need my resurrection life. Let me reveal to you what is there. Put your trust in me and in my love for you. Where you have been feeling hope-less, I call you to start to speak out my hope filled truth as I lead you. Speak with faith into those areas of impossibility and you will be amazed at what happens.’
I long to be like Ezekiel, partnering with God in all he is doing and in the miracle of restoration and new life he brings. I choose to speak out God’s truth and hope into my ‘dry bones’ and believe they will live.
.png)
