I went to a retreat with my church this past weekend. It was a great time, a time of refreshment and reconnecting with the Lord. I got to commune with other believers, I got to spend time meditating on the Lord, and I was able to have a bit of a reprieve from the stresses I've been experiencing at home.
But one thing that struck me particularly hard while I was there was how many people God has placed into my life who desperately need Him. I have had more talks about God in the past 2 months than I probably have had in my entire life before Korea. And most of those talks have not been with like-minded Christians, but rather with unbelievers.
The valley of dry bones that is mentioned in Ezekiel 37 was referenced at the conference, and I haven't been able to get that imagery out of my head since then. What a powerful picture that paints! A valley full of dead bones, long removed from any trace of life, their cold, lifeless shapes scattered across the earth, gleaming dully in the moonlight. There is absolutely no way that they will ever come to life again; they are without hope.
But God begs to differ. He sends Ezekiel to prophecy over them, telling them to rise up and live again. The greatest thing about this story, however, is not that the bones actually did live again; it's that people can live again, too. God does not only send revival to dead, dry bones; He sends them to the barren wastelands of the hearts of people who are completely dead, at least spiritually.
Many of us would say that our cities are sick, our states are lamentable, and our nation is dying. Indeed, even many families find themselves in unenviable spiritual states. But nothing is too big for God. If He can bring dry bones back to life, He can bring our families and our communities back to life, too. He can do it...do you want Him to do it?? Wherever you are, whatever your stage of life, pray for a revival to break out in this city.
I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 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.’”
7 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. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
But one thing that struck me particularly hard while I was there was how many people God has placed into my life who desperately need Him. I have had more talks about God in the past 2 months than I probably have had in my entire life before Korea. And most of those talks have not been with like-minded Christians, but rather with unbelievers.
The valley of dry bones that is mentioned in Ezekiel 37 was referenced at the conference, and I haven't been able to get that imagery out of my head since then. What a powerful picture that paints! A valley full of dead bones, long removed from any trace of life, their cold, lifeless shapes scattered across the earth, gleaming dully in the moonlight. There is absolutely no way that they will ever come to life again; they are without hope.
But God begs to differ. He sends Ezekiel to prophecy over them, telling them to rise up and live again. The greatest thing about this story, however, is not that the bones actually did live again; it's that people can live again, too. God does not only send revival to dead, dry bones; He sends them to the barren wastelands of the hearts of people who are completely dead, at least spiritually.
Many of us would say that our cities are sick, our states are lamentable, and our nation is dying. Indeed, even many families find themselves in unenviable spiritual states. But nothing is too big for God. If He can bring dry bones back to life, He can bring our families and our communities back to life, too. He can do it...do you want Him to do it?? Wherever you are, whatever your stage of life, pray for a revival to break out in this city.
Ezekiel 37:1-10
1 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. 2 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. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 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.’”
7 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. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
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