Have you ever asked yourself, “will things ever change in that person’s life?  I have prayed and prayed, but I never see any difference.”  Have you ever said that? Of course, we all have, or if we have not said as much, surely thought those concerns. Maybe it is not others that concern us, but it’s our own lives that are all dried up. Can things ever change for them or for me?

In the book of Ezekiel, we read that the children of Israel had been taken into Babylonian captivity. God had chosen Ezekiel as a prophet to call the nation to repentance and that judgement had come upon the nation due to the sinfulness prevailing in Jerusalem.  The first half of the book is pronouncing judgement, however after the word reached Babylon that Jerusalem had been destroyed, Ezekiel began to proclaim a new message from the Lord. A message of hope and restoration!

Ezekiel 37:1-14 The Lord has Ezekiel sit down in the middle of a valley filled with DRY SUNBLEACHED HUMAN BONES. The Lord asks him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” “Oh Lord You know.” Let’s be real, how many times we are faced with that same question about our loved ones, our country, or even our own lives. Can these bones live?

Verse 4: Ezekiel prophesy to the dry bones, “Oh you, dry bones, hear the WORD of the Lord.”

Verse 5: Thus says the Lord God to the dry bones, “I WILL cause breath and spirit to enter you and you shall live.”

Verse 6: “And I WILL lay sinews upon you and bring up flesh up on you and cover you with skin.   I WILL put breath and spirit in you, and you, dry bones will live. I AM THE LORD SOVEREIGN RULER.”

Verse 7: So, Ezekiel prophesied and there was a thundering noise and behold, a shaking, a trembling and a rattling as the bones came together. Wow! (That would scare the bejabbers out of me, how about you?) Be real now.

The thing that spoke to me in these first few verses of chapter 37 is how many times God said, “I WILL!” Many times, we feel the need to manipulate the situation or try again to change others, or even we try in our own strength to change ourselves.  If we would remember only the Lord can make DRY BONES live!

 We will end part 1 of this devotional with the challenge to read over and over the “I WILL” that God speaks in His Word. It is surely a message of HOPE and ENCOURAGEMENT to us. Look for Ezekiel 37 part 2 of THE DRY BONES in September.

JOY

Phyllis