Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ”
Ezekiel 37:11-14 NIV
Can something dead be made alive again? Ezekiel gave an award winning answer to this very question when God asked him,
“Son of man, can these bones live? ”
(Ezekiel 37:3)
I’m in awe over his wise response: “Only you know Lord.” Good. Answer. Israel was stuck. Not stuck in comfort mind you, just stuck. We will get to the comfort part later.
I was in my prayer room four years ago, reading from another prophet, Jeremiah, when the words, “what do you see” seemed to come off of the page. I knew the Lord wanted me to “see” with spiritual eyesight something in my situation that could be found in these very words. Excited, I looked out the prayer room window, but my excitement soon stopped and I answered, “what do I see?” Well, Lord it literally looks dead-very dead (very dry) out of this window. I was looking out over the once bustling store and hangout of my youth. At the time I was still trying to adjust to being in the newly renovated parsonage and truthfully not feeling it. Feeling a bit lost and tired. Bone tired (bone dry) after all of the packing and moving that had taken place for months but trying to settle in, nonetheless.
A few months later I heard the same,”What do you see?” again. This time when I looked out of the same prayer room window, things were starting to happen. Things were coming together like those dry bones did in the book of Ezekiel. It was just about “boat time” and the locals were riding down to the county dock to meet the ferry boat when it comes in every afternoon at 1:15 and tourists were strolling about as well. It was a very different view than the last time. It was coming alive in some respects. So, I said, “Lord, I see life! I see things happening! I guess it’s not as dead as I thought at first.”
Okay, all of that said brings me to today’s message and what I think God wanted me to “see” in all of this. Can something dead become alive again? Of course! Remember Lazarus? The Resurrection of our Lord Himself? Or how about whole cities and towns: Nineveh, The Hebrides. Yes, yes! Dead things can be brought back to life! What I’m seeing lately though is that many a dead thing is walking around! Unbeknownst to them-they are in fact dead! Zombies. Constantly consulting their phones for any and everything. Never looking up. Too comfortable to move. Seriously though…this is not funny! And it’s not just our phones! What I am “SEEING,” many are not! Spiritually speaking, of course. And, the truth is that if I see many being deceived, more than likely I too am being deceived. A scary thought. Our enemy no longer hides in the shadows. He is right up in your face these days and if we aren’t seeing that we are deceived. We live in a time when sinful behavior is not only allowed, it’s praised! If we are not taking a stand at this point for truth and losing some friends and gaining some enemies than we might be on the wrong team!
I realize God tells us many times to, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) and “Do not be afraid. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)
Lately though, I sense an urgency. I feel the leading of the Spirit to get a move on! I think that sometimes, in the past I have thought that those scriptures gave me the excuse to be complacent. That’s not what these verses mean at all! Prayer, in and of itself is action and when we pray there is also an element of watching, also an action. We are to watch and pray. This exercises our faith and trust in Him to move on our behalf. So, it’s pray, watch, go!
What I am getting at is this: We are losing our get up and go for the kingdom! Living in this western society has caused us to have a sort of “drive-thru” faith. We want God to fix everything the way we want our doughnuts! Hot and now! Am I right? We are weighed down and can hardly move. Confession time…I sometimes put off praying about something that is on my mind because I have told myself that He couldn’t possibly be interested or isn’t going to give me what I think I need. Silly, huh? That’s laziness on my part.
I believe that instead of having such a bratty attitude about God we need Him to show us how serious this can be. That we could be in a spirit of stupor that Paul talked about. (Romans 11:8)
Look at that one part in the Ezekiel scripture again..the children of Israel say that “our bones are dried up and our hope is gone and we are cut off.” Isn’t that sad for God’s people to come to such a conclusion?! “To despair is to turn your back on God.” -Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery) If our hope is gone then that says we have put our trust in ourselves and our abilities. But if we are looking to God we will have all we could ever need! To say we are cut off implies that God has separated Himself from us. We are alone. A lie that the enemy would like us to believe. We learn however from The Word that God “never leaves us or forsakes us.”(Deuteronomy 31:8) If we turn to Him with humble hearts He will always come near.
Look at what God says…”I am going to open up your graves!” He says, “ I’m going to settle you in your own land and everyone will know that I done it!” That’s it right there! Did you see it? It’s all for Him! All for His glory. We can try to move and do all we want but until it has His stamp on it…until it has His seal it’s all worthless.
I truly believe it is time to get a move on for His Kingdom and His glory. And when I say that I mean first of all to draw near. Cultivate a prayer time with God. Away from all the distractions. This could be the year of a Great Awakening! This could be the last trumpet call for us as followers of Jesus Christ to come under His yoke, let Him loose the chains and distractions and get a move on! Let’s ask what He would like to see happen for His glory in our lives that will spill over into other’s lives. He is worthy. And He cares too much for us to be stuck for too long. It’s time to get going.
Small Beginnings Blog 