18 Jan Dry Bones Come Alive

Colby and I love to hike on vacation. I know, vacation is supposed to be about relaxing, right? Well, it never is for us. We love to see the world and we take every chance we get to hike when we travel. We somehow always end up short on the amount of water we bring. No, we aren’t amateurs. We have hiked all over the world, but when it comes to food and water, we have a tendency to underestimate.

I make it known when I am hungry and thirsty. Poor Colby. Being thirsty, especially when overheated, is not a pleasant feeling. It was just two months ago that we were hiking through Palm Springs in the extreme heat. We didn’t see 1 person, we ran out of water and we got lost. Not a good situation, right? Thankfully we found our way and made it back to the car and and the first thing Colby did was drive straight to the closest gas station where I purchased and guzzled as much water as possible.

I don’t like the feeling of dryness, especially when in a desert. But I also dislike the feeling of dry skin or dry eyes. The reality is, there are so many other areas one can experience dryness: Finances, health, marriage, walk with God, relationships, etc. Honestly, the feeling of spiritual dryness far outweighs the discomfort that the feeling of being thirsty brings.

The Jews in Ezekiel 37 knew what dryness was all about. Israel was not only physically dry, but spiritually dry too. But the Lord gave Ezekiel a vision of the dead nation coming back to life. A nation that had experienced so much destruction and loss, that it had no hope. It had experienced so much death that it was referred to as the ‘valley of dry bones’.

In verse 3, the Lord asks Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Wow, really God? What would your response be if the Lord had given you a vision of a valley of dry bones? And why did the Lord ask Ezekiel if the bones could live when they were already dead? Clearly, if Ezekiel had responded based on what he saw, he would have said, “no.” Instead, I love Ezekiel’s response, “Lord, you alone know.” Way to tell God, Ezekiel!

The following verses say, “Then he said to me, “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. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.” Ezekiel 37:4-8

There are so many lessons that are so important about this story and it’s far greater than what I can cover in a blog post. Ultimately, the vision that Ezekiel had was to inspire Israel with hope that they would be revived as a nation, but there are three points I want to highlight as well: Nothing is impossible with God, God loves to bring life out of dead situations and lastly, your words have the power to speak life. After Ezekiel prophesied to the bones, what did they do? They came alive!

Nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible with God and I hope the Valley of Dry Bones reminds you of that. He loves to work in impossible situations. And, he wants you to have faith in who he is – the life giving and miraculous God. He can change any circumstance, no matter how dead it looks. Just as Romans 4:17 says, “God can raise the dead and call into being things that don’t even exist yet.” 

Just as God told Ezekiel in verse 4, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD,”  prophesy to your situation and speak the word of God over it. The word of God is life and it brings life so use it to combat any dead situations surrounding you. You can speak to anything and command that it comes back to life: your body, your marriage, your finances, etc. Command life to come forth in all the barren areas you are facing.

So, what dry bones do you have? What circumstances around you are dead? Whatever situation you are facing today, know that God wants to work the impossible to turn it around until it starts producing life. Friends, don’t live in the valley of dry bones, but instead thirst no more! Instead of living a dry life, command those dry bones around you to come alive.

PS. Enter to win my giveaway for a $50 giftcard to PinkBlush over on instagram!
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