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| {Art print by Megan Gilger.} ***This was written 14 years ago - while I was a student at the U of A*** |
I don't know
about you, but I think one of the worst things in the world is to
have the breath knocked out of me. I remember
when I was about seven or eight years old. We went to Colorado
on a family vacation. We took a {pop up} camper and stayed in it for
the entire length of the trip. Well {one day} I came running inside
{from the campsite playground} and I tripped over a
lower cabinet door that had been left open. I remember it
like yesterday because it was one of the most horrible things I have
ever experienced.
Anyway, I
fell flat on my stomach and I couldn't breath! I was crying
and not breathing {which made the breathing more difficult}. I
remember my dad helping me up and holding me until
my breathing returned to normal. It was horrible. Well, the
more I think about that day in the mountains the more I realize that
has happened more than one time in my life. Maybe not physically but
{definitely} spiritually.
Have you ever
had a time in your life where everything is running pretty
smoothly? You are right in the center of God's will, you are helping
others and you are growing like crazy and them BOOM you
trip.... Somehow that cabinet door got left open and you fall
smack on your face! You lay there awhile {shocked that you fell} and
even {more shocked that you are not breathing}. Maybe you are lying
there telling yourself that you will never breath again. Whatever the
case, there is a similar story in scripture that I can relate too and
I am sure that you can too. So, if your laying on the floor and
unable to breath, don't panic. Let's read this together and ask our
Breath of Life to breath for us again.
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[a] 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.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
This passage was particularly interesting to me, given the fact that I feel a little bit dry right now. I am like the nation of Israel. I am not on a mountaintop but I have settled into the valley. I have fallen, become breathless, and began to dry up. I don't know if you are like I am right now, but my prayer is that you are far better off than I. My hearts desire is to pitch my tent on the mountain, to live there forever and make it my home. But the sad thing is, very few people {if any} stay on the mountain. You see, if we were supposed to stay on the mountain all of the time, God would have never made valley's. The scripture tells us that the Lord took Ezekiel into the valley so that he could see all the bones.
Have you seen
the dry bones around yourself lately?
What are the
dry bones in your life?
What have you
allowed to creep into your life and dry you up?
Ezekiel goes
on to tell us that these bones belonged to the nation of Israel.
Verse 2 tells us that the Lord caused Ezekiel to pass by the bones
{Ezekiel didn't do this on his own!} Ezekiel never would have
seen the many bones, if he hadn't been in the valley. Later in
the verses the Lord asked Ezekiel if there was any hope for these
people...He was asking Ezekiel if they could ever live again.
How does
Ezekiel respond?
How would you
have responded to this question?
Do you think
that you would have believed that the dry bones could be made whole?
I think I
probably would have had a hard time believing that things could
change. I probably would have been overwhelmed by all the death. But,
the Lord had something else in store.
You may feel
dead right now; maybe you have let sin rule your life. Maybe you have
lost your self worth or you have forgotten God has
many blessings in store for you life. No matter what you're feeling,
Jesus wants to make you whole. You may “have it all together” but
has Jesus really breathed life into you?
Just as Jesus
breathed on the nation of Israel in verse 5-6, He wants to breath on
you. He wants to restore you, He wants to cover you in a robe of
self-worth because you are His child, and He longs for you to
understand all the plans He has for you. But, that is not enough.
What Happened
in verse eight?
Where they
fully restored in Christ at this point in the passage? The
answer is No.
They were not
fully restored because Jesus had not yet breathed life into them.
There bodies looked good, they had their flesh restored, but nothing
was happening underneath all of that. You see, the key to restoration
is found on the inside. It cannot be something that is solely
physical. If I woke up tomorrow 40 pounds lighter, it wouldn't be
enough to awaken my dry bones of sin. God would have to change me
from the inside out. He would have to breath life into me.
The same is
true for you, it is not enough to say that you won't be bad anymore.
It is not enough for you to tell yourself that you are going to stop
sinning. This life giving breath has to start on the inside and
it has to start with Jesus. You have to allow Him to be your
strength. You have to allow Him to be your guide. He must {in order
for you to live} in order for you to breath.
Have you
reached a point in your life where you have allowed Him to do that?
If you have, I am happy for you... Remember to keep allowing Him to
do it... If you haven't, ask Him to breath for you.
He longs to
give you life-giving breath. Please let Him and know that His
life is much better than any you could create without Him. He holds
the power; He holds the breath.
