Life Through the Word

The prophets of the Old Testament had some amazing visions from God. Isaiah saw the Lord on his throne and a seraphim touched his lips with a hot coal. Daniel saw the angel Gabriel and the archangel Michael. For Ezekiel, his vision was of dry bones being brought back to life with a word and the breath of the Almighty. That had to be an amazing sight! What hope and life that would bring to someone going through the trials of captivity and living in an unrepentant nation.

My youngest son sometimes acts like he is dry bones in a valley. He is quick to feel defeated or wronged. Depending on how poorly he slept, he might have a whole day of laying in the valley feeling like he can’t go on any more. If a sibling has said the wrong thing to him, or we ran out of his favorite snack, or his tablet isn’t charged and he can’t find a charger, he immediately plops on the floor, inconsolable. Life feels hard for him as the youngest. It takes a lot of encouraging words, patience, hugs if he’ll accept them, and promises of a better tomorrow to get his dry bones to come to life again. While this may sound like silly imagery to you, no my son doesn’t actually turn into a pile of bones, we can think about ourselves and our trials as being those bones in the valley. While we aren’t facing Babylonian captivity, we do face burdens brought on by a sinful world. How was it that the dry bones came to life in Ezekiel's vision? It was words. More powerful words than the words I speak to my son, the holy Word of God. God’s Word can do the same thing for us that it did for those bones. It can speak life into us and bring hope. When we feel like we’re defeated, we can turn to his Word and remember that it is his breath that keeps us alive, and it’s His Word that will restore our hope. We too can be put back together and made whole by his Word.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, when I feel like dry bones in a valley, bring me to your Word to bring me to life again. Remind me that I have hope in you and promised salvation from all the burdens of this life. Amen.