The hand of the Lord was on me, 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. 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. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord. - Ezekiel 37:1-14
There is this really interesting television series on AMC called, "The Walking Dead", which looks at the life of individuals post outbreak of the zombies or what they call in the show 'walkers'. This television series inspired today's devotional as the prophet Ezekiel faced a kind of similar situation. Ezekiel saw a vision in which he was in a valley of dry bones and just by the word of his mouth they came to life - somewhat similar to the concept of zombies. The Lord in this vision or dream was bringing across a major point to Ezekiel with respect to the people of Israel. The point was that despite the dry and dead state the people of Israel were in, God was capable of breathing life and a new meaning into them.
Some of us today are going through situations where we feel so empty and dead on the inside. We walk around going through daily tasks like 'walkers' having no meaning and purpose. Day after day it is the same thing and we just cannot seem to even find a reason why we are living much less why we are not dead yet. A state where to live is just as difficult as attempting to take our own lives, being a true definition of 'the Walking Dead'. However I am here to tell you that despite the dry, dead state you are probably in God can breathe life and meaning into your heart today. You may feel hopeless and feel like there is no way out and that the future is just as morbid as the state you are in. However God says in His word in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." In this hopeless word God is here to provide us with hope and a future. He also says in John 10:10b, " .....I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." There is a cure to all this death and His name is Jesus! This simple devotional is a reminder and is an encouragement to those who feel hopeless, lost and dead on the inside. Just give Jesus full control of your lives today and watch Him bring new meaning and purpose to life and end your days as 'the Walking Dead'.
