Speak Into
Scripture: Ezekiel 36 & 37
Ezekiel 37:1-2 says, “The hand of the LORD was upon me (1:3; 8:1), 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. 2 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.” Scholar after scholar state that this valley, the very dry bones, symbolizes the hearts of the people, and what Ezekiel sees is desolate. What he sees is dead. Ezekiel’s reality looked hopeless – a valley FULL of very dry bones.
How many of you are in a valley right now? Are you imprisoned by your perspective? Is there something in your past that has caused you so much pain that it is limiting your future? Maybe you’re on the brink of divorce, or you lost your job, your single, the bills are stacked up, and the valley is deep. Turn to God. Seek His presence. Trust Him.
When we trust God, He takes our hopeless situation and tells us what He’s going to do, what He’s able to do, and He helps us see the garden while we’re in the valley. Before God brings Ezekiel to valley of dry bones, the grave yard, He first shows him the future.
Ezekiel 36:34-35 says, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden…” God shows Ezekiel the future so that has the strength to endure the graveyard.
The bottom line is valleys are guaranteed. We will experience trials, trouble, and injustice. And so, God answers this question through Ezekiel. How do I keep my eyes on the garden even when we are in the valley?
Ezekiel 37:4 says, “Then he (God) said to me, “Prophesy (prophesy means to speak God’s words or God’s promise/s) to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!” God’s like I have a plan for those dry bones. They look dead, but they are NOT! God tells us that you and I build a bridge from the graveyard to the garden by His Word!
What we see here is we need to stop describing our problems, and start declaring God’s promises over our problems. Again God says, “Prophesy to these (dry) bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD” (Ezek. 37:4)! God’s like don’t talk about what’s dry in your life – speak to it! Don’t speak about what you see. Speak to what you see until you see it like God said it.
God is prompting His church to breathe/speak into whatever is dead, breath/speak into dead dreams, breath into no hope, breath into no purpose, breath into disappointment and discouragement, breath into unforgiveness, brokenness, and into hurt and pain “…that we may live” (Ezek. 37:9).
Song: Graves Into Gardens by Brandon Lake | Elevation Worship
Pastor Joe