The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37: 1-6, NIV) 37 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[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.’”
Its not enough to just live, but we must want more. God did not plant us on this earth just be here. We are here with a purpose – we are here to DO!!
Listening to Tasha Cobbs Leonard and heard the lyrics “…til the dry bones respond, I gotta run over….” really hit me this morning. Sometimes, within us, there is a dead place. A place long forgotten due to many different reasons – fear, isolation, depression, a give up spirit, and so on. But the Children of God know that God can make dead things new. (Note: the children of God here are not classified just as those that go to church. While the fellowship among the saints is very important, it isn’t the only classification to being called His.) He can revive things within us that we have cast aside. I am reminded now as I write this of dreams of yesterday that I never thought would be. Yet, God has renewed in me those dreams. When HE spoke in Jeremiah 29:11 – “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV) these were not idol words. God says nothing without purpose. Maybe we need to take a page out of His book and realize that our words too have meaning. Maybe if we stop talking idly, pointlessly, frivolously, we will understand that our power comes from high. The Lord reminds us of the power of the tongue in Proverbs 18:21. Maybe, just maybe, if we used that power we could speak to our own dry bones and stand back and see the salvation of the Lord.
But I want more. More of God, more for me, more for you. I want what Mrs. Cobbs – Leonard described in the song. I want to run over until the dry bones respond. I want what’s dry within me to be so oiled that they overflow. That they leak with the oil. Not just any oil. His oil. I want the promises of prosperity – that you shall proser as your soul prospers. I don’t want a fake word, promise, or prophecy that you’ve conjured up because it sounds good. If God ain’t said it, don’t say it to me. Lord knows, you may get a look of disbelief and horror. Not because I don’t believe in God but because I don’t believe in you. There are so many false prophets and teachers walking this earth. Don’t let them pimp you or push you into accepting what they say. Study the word for your self so that you may be ready in season and out of season to release what He gives you. That can come in many fashions – prophecy, teaching, a helping hand, a gentle smile. There is no set format for how God will use His willing vessel to do His work. But the key there is to being willing. Not able – willing. God will give the ability.
Here’s the thing most Christians will miss. This is a self-help exercise. It isn’t meant for you to go out and prophesy to someone else’s dry bones. This is time for you to take your own tongue and speak to your own self. Tell your valley of dry bones to wake up. Tell your valley of dry bones who your God is. Tell your valley of dry bones that God is able to do increasingly more than you can think and/or image. Tell your valley of dry bones …. not someone else’s. Until your cup is running over, then you could be the distraction instead of the blessing. You could be telling another person what you need to be telling yourself thereby allowing your words to fall on unfertile ground. Baby - know that not all people need you to dictate their way of life. They don’t need you to interject and correct them. That’s not your job anyhow. God called us to LOVE!!! Want to see your family get free – Love on them – without judgement. Don’t let your tongue be the excuse they need to stay away from the God they need. God will send the correction in His timing.
Exercise for today – take time out and really look inward. What is buried so deep inside that you either forgot it was there or have been hiding it for days, months, years, centuries?? Where is the valley within you? Once you discover it, realize this – it truly can’t hurt you unless you let it by not dealing with it. Hiding the lie doesn’t make it better. It lets the lie fester inside until it eats you from the inside out. You’ll get so consumed with hiding it that you’ll have to keep lying to everyone about everything. Now, I’m not telling you to broadcast your life to the world. But you can broadcast your hurt and pain to Jesus – cast your cares on Him (I Peter 5:7). Can’t nobody love you like Jesus. Can’t nobody reveal the why of it all but Jesus. So, why not talk to the source?
Be A Blessing and Not Just Blessed
- Nakya
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