"God grabbed me. God's Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Master God, only you know that." He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones: 'Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!'" Ezekiel 37:1-4
Spiritual renewal is an extremely important key to life with God. As we go journey through life, we inevitably have times of triumph and trial, joy and pain, delight and despair. While it is easy to identify God's work in our lives in times of great blessing, we often feel cut off or disconnected from God in times of difficulty.
Ezekiel 37 is a profound story about how the spirit of God has the power to renew and revitalize our lives. Ezekiel, the great and eccentric prophet, is placed in the valley of the dry bones. As he gazes across the desert he sees an endless array of dried and sun-bleached bones. These bones represent fellow Jews who were exiled from the promised land, cut off from their homes, families, culture, and religious practice. The bones were literally the people of Israel, drying out in a state of physical and spiritual draught. It is within this context that God asks Ezekiel: "can these bones live?" Can these who have been cut off from their source of life, be brought back to life? Can God restore and renew life? Ezekiel's answer demonstrates his great faith: "only you know"
Our spiritual walk with Christ is not always easy or pleasant, and we do go through times of suffering and struggle. Jesus himself spoke often of times of trial and tribulation, times of spiritual dryness, and sufferings we would endure. "When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end" (Matthew 10:22-23) It is never easy to follow the Lord, and the world will and does resist. We go through times of struggle and spiritual dryness, but the spirit of God has the power to bring renewal.
As Ezekiel responded to God's call to speak a word of prophesy to the dry bones a miraculous event started to take place. The bones began to come together and took on flesh and blood. These reconstituted bodies stood before Ezekiel as a vast multitude, a great army of God. But, the bones didn't come to life until the spirit of God, from the four winds, came upon them. When God's breath, or the spirit ('spirit', 'breath', and 'wind' are all the same word in Hebrew and Greek) comes onto the dry bones they come alive. And so it is with us, we can walk around physically alive but spiritually dead. We need to seek renewal in the Spirit to fully experience the life God has called us to live. To fully serve and love the Lord, we need the spirit's renewing presence.
And yet, the spirit of Renewal is not some miraculous event waiting to happen, it is not something outside of ourselves we must wait to come upon us. The spirit of God is already active and present in our lives. Each breath we take is God's spirit inside of us. "Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7) We already possess the resources for spiritual renewal, it is a gift already given to us. When we seek renewal from the Lord, it will be given. When we refocus and dedicate our lives to Christ, we will experience renewal. When we connect and reconnect our lives to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we experience renewal.
As we move forward together seeking to respond to the gifts God has blessed us with, may we be filled and refilled with the renewing Spirit of God.
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