Dry Bones

 The Spirit of God has made me, 
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4

Every breath we take is a gift. Each inhale. Each exhale. It's easy sometimes to take those breaths for granted. I think that's because they come without us even thinking about them. They are automatic. We need each breath that we breathe to have life on this earth. But what about a different kind of breath? The kind that gets our hearts pumping and puts excitement in our bones. The kind that makes us want to shout about the glory of God and dance in the streets like David. The kind that makes us want to be different from the world - to be set apart because we have something that people see but can't quite put their finger on. That kind of breath can only be given by the power of the Holy Spirit. It can only be breathed into us by the breath of the Almighty. It's glorious. It's exciting. It brings us joy even when we feel sadness. It brings comfort even when we feel scared. If you're a believer in Christ, the very breath of God is in you.

Several weeks ago in Sunday School, we were studying the book of Ezekiel. I've read about this before, but this lesson took me deeper into God's word and it had a profound effect on me. You see, Ezekiel was a prophet and God's hand was upon him. God gave Ezekiel a vision. The Bible tells us in Ezekiel 37:1-2, "The hand of the Lord was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley and they were very dry." God led Ezekiel through this valley. He gave him a tour so he could see all of these bones. When the scripture says "they were very dry", I learned that this signified the utter hopelessness of life coming back into these bones. No sign of life existed. 

Through my cancer journey, I learned a lot about being in a valley. It's usually your lowest point. Many times you find yourself alone in the valley. But I also learned that in the valley, God is always with us. I also learned that there is such beauty in these valleys we walk through. It may not seem like it at the time, but there is much to see and learn, and it's almost always a magnificent sight. So you may be wondering how there could be beauty in this valley that Ezekiel has been put in. Just wait. You'll see. 

God spoke to Ezekiel and told him to speak to the dry bones. Ezekiel 37:5-6 says, "This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know I am the Lord." I don't know about Ezekiel, but if I'm standing there in the middle of a valley of dry bones and the Lord God tells me He's about to put tendons and flesh on them and give them life, I'm gonna be a little scared. But that's exactly what God did. All of the bones that were scattered across that valley were put together as skeletons. God put the tendons on, joined the muscles, and put the skin over the bones - all while Ezekiel watched it. Wow! What a sight that must have been. The Bible tells us that the rattling sound of these bones coming together shook the earth so hard it was as if there were an earthquake! However, even though God put these bodies back together, they still had no life - they had no breath in them. 

God then commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath, and that the Lord God says breathe into these slain so that they may live! Verse 10 of Ezekiel 37 says, "So I prophesied as He commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army." Let's just imagine for a moment all that Ezekiel has witnessed. He went from being in a quiet valley full of dry bones, to being in a valley full of people standing before him. Only God could do this. 

You may be wondering where I'm headed with this, but I had to give you the visual of what happened. It was so significant to me. This vision God gave Ezekiel shows us that we are dead if we don't have Jesus as our Savior. It shows us the power of the Holy Spirit. Oh, we're human and we're walking around, living our lives from day to day, but we are not experiencing the richness of all God has to offer. The Holy Spirit brings new life to us when we accept God's salvation. The Holy Spirit is the joy in our sadness, the comfort in our fear, the truth to our doubts. The Holy Spirit is the dance in our step and the music to our songs. We live here on earth because God gave us life. But we live in abundance here on earth and then for eternity if we accept Jesus as our Lord. He gives us life and His Spirit enables us to breathe and be alive in a way we could never imagine. God gave Ezekiel this vision to show us that the gospel is about making dead people alive. We are dead in Christ until we accept Him. Then we are given this beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is what moves us. It's what makes our hearts overflow at the sight of a sunset, or the vastness of the ocean, or simply the fullness of being in His presence. The Spirit is a light that shines in us that makes us look different. He didn't have to give us this gift of His Spirit. He could have given us only the gift of His salvation. And that would have been enough. But He went further and gave us this mighty, powerful gift of His Spirit. He woke us up and gave us a gift worth shouting about. He died on the cross to save our souls from Hell. But then He breathed into us His Spirit to live this life here, right now, in a way that glorifies Him - in a way where we can be so filled with His Spirit that we are overflowing. What a gift!

If you don't know the Lord as your Savior, please consider Him. He's waiting for you. He's waiting to breathe life into you like you've never known. Don't live this one life you have here on earth as dry bones. Let God breathe into you His Spirit so you can experience life abundantly here and then forevermore in Heaven. I'm so thankful to God for His Holy Spirit, for breathing life into these dry bones of mine, for raising me up to live in a way that is not possible without Him. I'm thankful that the very breath of the Almighty gives me life.

I love you all,

Kacey