Question number one: Have you ever been lost or separated from your family or friends? It can be terrifying for the one lost and the ones searching.
For years, my mom and stepdad worked the Lost and Found station (an old caboose) at the Florida Strawberry Festival. They would tell me stories of people, especially children, who would end up at the caboose each night. The internal feelings would be evident on the faces of those lost. Then, the expressions of joy and comfort when discovered by their loved one was rewarding.
Once lost, but now found.
Question number two: If you were to find an old chicken bone, put it in a cage, and tell it to come to life, would that dry up bone actually become a chicken again? No way! Yet, in the following story, dry bones did come to life by just speaking to them. Or…was that all it really took for those bones to come to life?
In Ezekiel 37:1-14, we read about the vision that God gave to Ezekiel. When we hear about visions from God in the bible, those are prophetic moments that are a foreshadowing of what will occur. When God says He will do something, you can bet your bottom dollar that He will follow through. The Lord does what He says He will do.
The vision consisted of God placing Ezekiel in the middle of a valley filled with a slew of human bones. They were everywhere! God told Ezekiel to tell the bones to listen to the word of the Lord. He did. He obeyed God and spoke to the hoard of dry bones. Low and behold, those bones listened! They began to rattle, form together, have muscle and flesh that was covered with skin. Then, God told Ezekiel to tell the wind to blow and give breath to the dead bodies so that they may live again. And what do you know, Zek obeyed again, the wind obeyed, and these once dry bones, that became bodies, now were a living army. Can you even imagine?!
God did all this to bring hope to His lost children. Hope of a physical placement, and a spiritual renewal.
When Israel was divided from their kingdom and in captivity, they felt lost, terrified, and without hope. They had sinned and let God down. But God…God was not, and is not, finished with them. The vision describes how God would give Israel life again just like He gave the bones breath.
Once hopeless, now hopeful.
How about you? Do you feel, or know, that you’ve let God down and think that you are without hope? If so, don’t just think again, but believe. Believe in Jesus Christ, be filled with His breath and life, and know that He fills you with hope, joy, love, and peace.
Earlier, I posed the question, “Dry bones did come to life by just speaking to them. Or…was that all it really took for those bones to come to life?” No, speaking to them wasn’t all. Notice all the steps that took place: God spoke, Ezekiel listened and obeyed God, those bones listened to the word of God, then they received the breath of God to renew them. We can’t just change our ways and remain dry and lifeless just by being. We too must listen to the word of God, obey Him, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Friend, without Christ we are just like those dry bones…lifeless.
I pray that you will invite the Lord to change you and give you life. Our sin makes us dead, but God gives us life. Get in His word and obey His teachings. May you rattle for righteousness, form in forgiveness, and be covered by God’s grace. God is so good!
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie