The painful, difficult, impossible, terrible circumstances loomed on every side. I could not catch my breath before something else awful happened. It seemed each month more bad news came my way. I cried out to the Lord. He gave me promises to hold onto. But time dragged on, months became years. Most days I complained and grumbled. “How much longer?” There were the questions of “Why?” Somedays, I was angry at the One who I knew could deliver me at any moment but chose not to do so. The promises became neglected, forgotten. Hopelessness set in over time and so did bitterness. I became cynical until a word refreshed my weary soul.
Ezekiel 37:1-2
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.
The situation was hopeless. It had been an extended amount of time for the bones were very dry. The circumstances surrounding the valley were traumatic, dreadful. Ezekiel was standing in a mass of dead bodies, only bones remaining. It was humiliating for the bones were not given a proper burial, so the enemy had brought shame and mocking to the already dreadful scene. As a Jewish man, this was an unclean place being near these bones. It would have been a frightening scene, disgusting. It was how I felt in the midst of all the enemy had done in my life.
Stare with Ezekiel. Think of the “dead circumstances” in your life. Process the pain, the shame, the loss, the devastation around each one. God led Ezekiel back and forth among the bones. This was a time of evaluation. Ezekiel had to see how bad the situation truly was and acknowledge the depth of the pain and suffering. Ezekiel, surely overwhelmed, did not say a word. He just walked through the valley with God, shocked at what he was experiencing.
Suddenly, the Lord broke the silence.
Ezekiel 37:3a
He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
Can the circumstances change? Can what you once believed for but then lost hope over as time dragged on, can that situation be transformed?
Ezekiel 37:3b
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Ezekiel’s response is honest. Ezekiel knew his own thoughts, and in the natural what the Lord said was impossible. But he also understood that the Lord is Sovereign. Ezekiel knew that God is supreme, reigning over all. He is preeminent, showcased in authority as well as power. Ezekiel realized only God knew what He could do in the situation to make the impossible become possible.
And that is what I wrestled with, the sovereignty of God. I knew He could transform my situations but time dragged on. The problems became like “dry bones” too far gone. Help was too late. Unlike Ezekiel, I added my words to the situation. Instead of trusting the Lord with “Sovereign Lord, you alone know”; I would say “Do something now!” or “Where are you?” or even “I think You should do this.” I grumbled and complained more
than I care to admit. My words became more negative, echoing despair instead of faith. Instead of focusing on God’s sovereignty, I stared at my situations and murmured about how “dry” they were. In the midst of my response, even over years of ups and downs; God would give me promises from His word of deliverance, of a better future, of a miraculous intervention just like He gave Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 37:4-6
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.’”
God allows Ezekiel to know what will happen. God’s Word is true. What He says He will do, He will do. The promises, given to me during my season of loss, will take place. However, I can choose to complain with my words or proclaim with God’s word. Ezekiel chose to prophesy the truth over the circumstances.
Ezekiel 37:7-8
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.
Movement began. The rattle would have been deafening as bones came together. A gruesome science scene took place as tendons and flesh appeared. It all began when Ezekiel spoke God’s word. When the Lord spoke, nothing happened because of the clause He put on there for Ezekiel to prophesy. God told Ezekiel to speak and then change began to take place. The Lord limited His own power to not to do a regenerative work until Ezekiel made the proclamation. When Ezekiel’s words matched the words of the Lord, a miracle took place. God gives us a word, a promise, His truth. When our words line up and proclaim His words, then the power of God will complete the word of God in our lives.
Ezekiel 37:9-10
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.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Life from death, hope from despair, possible from impossible. The magnitude of the miracle stood all around Ezekiel. The miracle manifested when Ezekiel spoke the word of God over the terrible situation surrounding him.
One day, I will be surrounded by the miracles that the Lord promised me. Until then, I must speak His word over my situations. Forgive me for my complaints, Lord. May we all choose to be proclaimers and not complainers with our words.