Dry Bones
Whenever I hear a reference to the dry bones in Ezekiel, I turn my bible to the pages and read the story again.
The Valley of Dry Bones
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.’”
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.
Ezekiel 37:1-10
It takes my breath away to have a full understanding of what this means. Dry bones are lifeless. They are dusty and dirty and dead. They are sometimes broken and splintered.
But God can revive even dry bones when we are obedient to his commands.
Do you hear that still small voice, whispering in your heart when you have prayed for guidance?
Do you feel the twinge, the feeling of guilt when you ignore the voice?
Do you push back that feeling when you know you are about to do something but you quit because of fear?
Do you understand the disappointment when the fear speaks louder than the voice and you allow it?
These are your dry bones, coming to life with the realization that the Holy Spirit indwells- it lives within us. It guides us when we ask and prompts us when we don’t. It is provided as a guide to make discernment understandable and obedience clear.
Only the Sovereign Lord can give us such a gift.
What will we do to receive it?
Listening and acting in obedience is no small task, but it does build spiritual wellness, and confidence and teaches us to be bold in our faith.
Tuning into our own still small voice is an important part of our faith journey. It is supported by an active prayer life, reading and learning scripture, and spending time in the quiet with God.
Working within the boundaries of obedient faith also makes our own dry bones story one of redemption that we cannot get anywhere else.
xoxo,
