It is a question that I have been asking the Lord lately. Can these dry bones live?
When you think about it, there are very few processes on Earth that can be reversed. Wood that has been burned cannot be turned from ashes back into wood. Words cannot be taken back. Water cannot flow back up a waterfall. A tree cannot turn back into a seed. It seems this world was made to flow in one direction. Time passes, and there is not stopping it and there is no reversing it. And what is more irreversible than death? A dead plant cannot be made to live again. And a man, once he has died, and his body has returned to the earth, and all that is left is bones...what is more final than that? How many people have longed to return loved ones from the grave? But it is impossible. It is perhaps the one natural "force" in this world that humanity has not conquered in some way.
And God asks Ezekiel, "Can these dry bones live?" Ezekiel answers in faith: "You know, Lord." The Lord proceeds to raise those bones, and form bodies, to put muscles and skin on them, and to breathe breath into them.
The answer to His question was yes. "I am God, and I can make dead things live again." It makes me wonder what situation in life is too hopeless for our God. It is easy to feel dry and dead. It is easy to feel like there is no going back and it would be impossible for God to breathe new life into a situation. But the truth is that our God can create life out of nothing. And after that life dies, our God can restore it to life again.
What a flawed, fallen world we live in! What a flawed, sinful person I am. I am finding out more and more how immature I am--like a young sprout. I have not lived that long on this earth. There is so much I have left to learn. And I make mistakes every day. And recently it has been easy to think that I have turned into a dry skeleton. Where is the fruit in my life? Why do I keep failing? Is there hope that I will move past this dry, frustrating season and follow God on the right path and bear fruit again? Yes. Because these dry bones can live...when the Spirit fills them with life.
We just finished the first week of Patmos 10. Praise the Lord. I have gone through weeks with less sleep, but for some reason this one made me exhausted. But I am excited as well. I am excited about the potential for this class. They are a little older in age and a little more mature. So far, we haven't lost any of them!
Thank you for your thoughts, your prayers, and your love!
I will try to write more often!
