"And he said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'" - Ezekiel 37:3a
If you're reading this, I can reasonably assume a few things:
1) You are alive.
2) If you are alive, you are on a journey.
3) If you are both alive and on a journey, you have a past.
As humans who are bound within time, we really struggle with our pasts. What to do with them, how to view them, how often to view them...it's tiring. But this post isn't exclusively about that.
When I listen to people's stories, one of the most intriguing and revealing questions I've learned to ask is this: What died back there? And I'm not talking about physical death, per-se.
In other words, what is in your past (and maybe in your heart) that you declared deceased along the way? Maybe it's a relationship you had to let go of before you wanted to. Maybe it's a hope or a dream you once had that was shattered by the harsh realities of your life. Maybe it's the view of your future self you once had, but have let go of due to numerous failures at attempted life change.
Whatever it is, I think we all have something in our stories - our journeys - that we have declared dead along the way. The thing is...we serve a God of resurrection. And for people who want to declare things dead and move on...that can be really, really annoying.
In the passage that opens this post, God brings Ezekiel in a vision to a valley of dry bones. He then asks, "Can these bones live?" It's a pretty ridiculous question. Obviously not. Bones are bones. Bones mean dead. And they're dry. There's a reason the idiom "Bone dry" exists. It means there's nothing there, God. Nothing can be there...right?
God then commands Ezekiel to prophesy (speak truth) to the bones. I love how strange our God can be.
But the question remains - have you spoken truth to the dead valleys in your life?
Search your heart. Ask God to show you the dead valleys in your life. The areas of your past or your heart that you have declared dead. He may be wanting to bring them back to life. And the only way that can happen...is if you surrender your right to decide what's dead and what's not in your life.
Now - I'm not sure what that looks like for you. Maybe you need to re-engage a relationship you have left (or wanted to leave) behind. If that's the case, God will make that clear. But what if you can't? What if something really has passed away? A relationship may be gone forever in the form it once existed - but if you surrender that part of your story to Jesus...He can change it. He can change your view on it. He can change how others hear it. Maybe the relationship itself died, but the transformation through it doesn't have to. Maybe the illness was never cured, but a deeper healing can still happen. Maybe the abuse cannot be erased from history, but the scars can tell a different story.
We are so quick to cut things off. To close the door and speed down the road as quickly as possible. And it makes sense. We want to hurt less. But I believe...if we can open these formerly dead valleys in our lives to God, He will heal us from within - and bring life to us and those around us in ways we never imagined possible.
It just might be that God wants to use what died back there to bring life to you and others today.
izzy806
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