Life In the Valley of Dry Bones

Scripture:

“God grabbed me. God’s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’

I said, ‘Master God, only you know that.’

He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Message of God’!’

God, the Master, told the dry bones, ‘Watch this: I’m bringing the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am God!’

I prophesied just as I’d been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them.

He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life’!’

So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.

Then God said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they’re saying: ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’ Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says: I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll breathe my life into you and you’ll live. Then I’ll lead you straight back to your land and you’ll realize that I am God. I’ve said it and I’ll do it. God’s Decree’.’” Ezekiel 37:1-14 (MSG)

Perspective:

We don’t like things to be broken. If your car has broken down, you fix it. If your hot water heater goes out, you fix it. We get so good at fixing things, yet sometimes we face things we can’t “fix.” We think that we have to get our act together and sew all the pieces of our broken life together before we come to Jesus. Yet, Jesus is the master at taking brokenness and making it something beautiful for His glory. If you are staring at a dry, desolate, broken place in your life, there is hope.

God came to Ezekiel in a vision. The nation of Israel was facing difficulties; Ezekiel and others had been exiled to Babylon. They were experiencing one disaster after another. Their hope was gone. It would seem that the nation of Israel was finished. There would be no way to resurrect that which had been lost. As Ezekiel stood before this field, the dry, dead bones showed the destitute situation that Israel faced. What can be made of dead bones? God asked Ezekiel a very interesting question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Can God take something that is dead and breathe fresh life into them? From the surface, it would seem impossible. You can’t create life out of dead bones. But Ezekiel put the answer in God’s arena. He knew that God was the one who could do it. Only the Creator could create something out of nothing. There was movement in the dead places as God’s word was spoken. And as God’s word was spoken over the dead bones, life began to be restored. But in order for them to stand, God had to breathe life into them. God was able to take a people torn apart and knit them back together. The valley of dry bones is more than a miracle; it shows the active grace of God extended. And in order for you to experience the resurrection of the dead bones in your life, we need God to breathe life into them. If you are facing dead dreams today and your hope is gone, know that God can breathe life into brokenness. Sometimes we think God can not use our brokenness. It can lend to thinking that it disqualifies us. But, the thing that we want to use to disqualify ourselves, God wants to redeem in order that He might work in our lives in spite of ourselves. It’s never about us to begin with. When we start thinking that it is all about us and what we bring to the table, we miss it. We miss grace and the heart of a God who redeems. Instead of thinking God can use anything but “that,” God wants to take your brokenness and create a beautiful masterpiece that does not show your ingenuity or creativity but His. The thing that you think ruined your life is only the beginning when you place it in the hands of a loving God. His ability to recreate and make something out of nothing is phenonimonal. There was hope for Israel, and there is hope for you. So, today, why don’t you try dusting off the broken pieces of failure, disappointments, and compromises and lay them before Jesus? Allow God to breathe new life into your broken dreams and the hidden recesses of your heart. Begin to speak life over those broken places and the truth of God’s promises. If your life looks like a pile of dry bones with no hope, lean into the Creator who can knit together the broken pieces and bring forth new life in your heart today.