A cow died a very long time ago in our cattle pens – all that remained were bones. I thought it was cruel the other cows would be penned up in the small space with the skeleton of one of their own even for only a short period. So I painstakingly picked up every bone and disposed of it. I combed through the grass and dirt looking for the odd fragment. I was sure I had picked up every piece of the deceased cow. But a year into the drought, the ground pushed up more bones – not just a few, but a lot: a jaw bone – just one side, an ankle bone, several vertebra, and numerous unrecognizable bones.
In Ezekiel 37:1-14, there is a valley filled with bones; they were very dry and very old. How did they get there – did the ground yield up these bones? God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones; flesh grew on the bones, but there was no life in them. He told Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath; and they came to life standing to their feet. God told Ezekiel that bones represented the whole house of Israel saying, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cutoff.” NKJV Ezekiel 37:11 The Lord said He would cause their graves to be opened, He would bring them up from their graves, put His spirit in them, and they shall live.
- In drought, in times when your bones are dry, do you give up or allow God to bring you up out of your dryness – your grave – by seeking Him?
- What is the making of your grave? A circumstance, a situation, a place, a person, a choice or choices you made?
- Will you yield up that which doesn’t belong in God’s ground or will you run in despair away from Him who is able to bring you out?
- What do you need to yield up?
- How could you get out of the dry times sooner?
God gave the dry bones life – just as He gives us life. He gave them His breath, just as He has given us His Holy Spirit. We are no longer dead in our short-comings: we are alive in Him. During times when things seem dry, my flesh wants to wallow in the grave, but I know that the surest quickest way out of the grave is to seek His face and yield to Him; giving up those things that do not belong in me.
Lord, help us to quickly identify those things in us that do not belong in the same life as you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.