Grace For The Journey

 

  Today we’ll look at a portion of Scripture that is a source of great comfort and encouragement for anyone who is struggling with anything.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 37:1-10, “The hand of the LORD was upon 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.  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.  He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’  I said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.’  Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 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.’  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. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.  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 from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’  So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.”

For far too many today, life is being lived in a valley of dry bones, very dry bones.

• A career that once held great promise has careened out of control because of addiction.
• A marriage that started in a magical world has ended up in a world of misery because of self-centeredness.
• A ministry of service that began building a monument to the glory of God has come crashing down in the ruins of everything a man once stood for.

Countless careers, marriages, and ministries have become nothing more than a valley of dry bones, very dry bones.

The prophet Ezekiel gives us a wonderful word of comfort and encouragement . . . no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in today.

The first vision given to the prophet was not a pretty sight “I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley.”  Dry, dead bones were scattered everywhere.

On the heels of this desolate picture of death we have the rhetorical question asked by our omnipotent God, “Can these bones live?”  The answer we all must give, of course, is a resounding “YES,” for it is God asking the question and it is God who will breathe life into them.  And God will breathe life into whatever area of your life is on “life support” right now.

• He will breathe new life into your struggling career.
• He will breathe new life into your strained marriage.
• God will breathe new life into your misaligned ministry of service to Him.

The second vision given to Ezekiel was a powerful sight, “The bones came together, bone to bone!”  As of yet, however, there was no breath in them.  Imagine what was running through the mind of the prophet when he heard the rattling sound of those dead dry bones coming together, attached by tendons, and being covered by flesh and skin!

But the vision did not stop there, because in spite of the miracle of putting the bodies back together again, there was still no life.  So God took Ezekiel deeper in to his vision. God told him to prophesy and breath will enter them.  Guess what?  It did!

From his first vision of being surrounded by nothing but dead, dry bones, the prophet now found himself standing in the midst of “a vast army” that God assembled right before his eyes.

Funny thing about God . . .

He seems to enjoy bringing life out of death.

• He brought life to dead Adam with a breath in his nostrils.
• He brought life to these dead dry bones.
• He brought life to Lazarus in the tomb.
• He brought life to Peter after his denial of the Lord by giving to him a new vision of feeding God’s people.
• He brought life to Saul on the road to Damascus – Saul, who was dead in his trespasses and sins – and turned him into the apostle Paul.

And God can bring life to you and anything you are facing today that is either on “life-support” or already dead.  You have His Word on it!  Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  Now you need only to catch His vision in whatever valley of dry bones you are facing today . . . and watch Him work!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”