“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. 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, ‘Sovereign LORD, you alone know.'”
Ezekiel 31:1-3
In the verses we just read, we experience the vision the LORD gave Ezekiel. Picture it with me, we are standing in the middle of a vast battlefield, and we see lifeless, dry, sun-scorched bones everywhere we look. I imagine the hopelessness and discouragement Ezekiel must have felt.
As you picture this scene, what feelings do you experience?
When the LORD asked Ezekiel, could these bones live, He also asked Ezekiel to do something. The LORD asked him to prophesy over the valley of dry bones. (Ezekiel 37:4-6) And what did Ezekiel do? Did he whine and complain to the LORD about what he was seeing? Did Ezekiel question the LORD’s ability to raise the lifeless bones before him to new life? NO, he confidently believed the LORD would do what He said He would do and did what the LORD asked. (Ezekiel 37:7)
What do you see?
Let’s take a step back from the story of Ezekiel for a moment and bring this to a more personal level. I want you to take a few minutes and examine your own life.
I want you to picture yourself standing in a field with the LORD. Look around. What do you see?
- Do you see a life with a barren and stagnant faith?
- Or do you see a life of faith that is exciting and alive, full of moments, experiencing God’s Presence and Glory in ways you never thought possible?
Now, continue to imagine standing with the LORD. As you’re surveying the field of your life, He turns to you and says, “My daughter, can this life that you see before you live? Can it be exciting and alive again?”
What is your response?
Do you trust that the LORD will do what He says he will do and breathe new life into your faith?
Some of you saw a barren and stagnant faith, while some saw an exciting and alive faith. Those who saw an exciting and alive faith hang with me for a few minutes; don’t completely tune me out. First, I want to speak to the hearts of those of you who saw a barren and stagnant faith.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Ezekiel 11:19-20 reads, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people and I will be their God.”
In these passages, the LORD is telling the people of Israel through Ezekiel that he will bring them back from where they were scattered and perform a Spiritual heart transplant through a new relationship with Him. In Ezekiel 37:3, the LORD asks Ezekiel, “can these bones live?”. The Lord challenged Ezekiel to look beyond the obvious circumstances in front of him. He needed to be open to whatever God envisioned and had planned.
How about you? Can you look beyond the obvious circumstances in front of you? Are you open to whatever God envisions for your life?
If the Lord can create man out of nothing by breathing the breath of life into man’s nostrils, can’t he revive your barren and stagnant faith? (Genesis 2:7)
I know some of you wonder how the Lord can breathe life into your current situation. I’m going to give you three ways that he can breathe life back into your walk with Him.
Hear the Word of the Lord
Ezekiel 37:4 says, “O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!”
How do we “hear the word of the LORD”? By reading and studying His Word. When was the last time you spent time in God’s Word other than the hour or two you are in church each week? When was the last time you studied a specific passage of God’s Word, unpacking it and hearing Him speak to you through your study? Personal time reading God’s Word and corporate study with others is essential.
Pray
Prayer is our time for personal one-on-one dialog with the Lord. It’s our opportunity to
- acknowledge His Holiness,
- confess our sins,
- thank Him for Who He is and His answer to our prayers,
- make requests and pray for needs.
If you don’t already have one, get a prayer journal and begin using it as a place to record your prayers and praises. Having a journal allows you to look back and see the many ways the Lord has answered your prayers. Documenting this journey will also show how God renews your walk with Him.
Worship
John Piper once said, “Because experiencing God is an INVISIBLE ACT of the MIND KNOWING and the HEART FEELING, and SHOWING God is a VISIBLE ACT of the BODY DOING. Both are parts of authentic worship. Where either is missing, the other is incomplete.”
Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
What does true worship look like? It’s not just going through the motions of standing and singing during the “worship” portion of church. It’s daily living a life in gratitude, awe, and reverence for the many ways God has worked in your life. We worship when we thank God for answering prayer and serving those around us in need. It’s saying, “Yes, God, I will allow you to use me however you want to share your saving grace to those around me.”
The Lord breathes new life into our hearts, minds, and spirit as we allow Him to transform and renew our minds through studying and hearing His Word and spending time in prayer. As we experience God working in our lives, we can’t help but worship Him.
A challenge
Now, I have a challenge for those who saw an exciting and alive faith.
- Who can you come alongside and encourage and support as they seek a Spiritual heart transplant or a renewed relationship with God?
- How can you best encourage and support that person?
- Is it through studying God’s Word with them, praying with them, or spending time mentoring them through a difficult season?
- How is God challenging you to share the message of His hope and faithfulness?
Heavenly Father, You desire to have a vibrant and active relationship with me. Lord, give me a heart that seeks you entirely. When my relationship with you grows barren and stagnant, give me the desire to spend time in Your Word, talk to you through prayer and worship you for the many ways you work in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
In His Calm,
