Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Breath...

"I will make breath enter you, 
and you will come to life."
Ezekiel 37:5

I was reading Ezekiel 37 in my devotions. I am fascinated with the Valley of Dry Bones. The Spirit of the Lord takes Ezekiel to a valley and he walks up and down among these old dry bones. When Ezeliel was asked if these bones could live again, he replied, "Oh Sovereign Lord, only You know".

Have you ever walked among a valley of dry bones?

This is past the Valley of Death. These bones were dry and dusty. Death had come and gone and time and  weather had bleached the bones white.   
What bones are in your valley?
Was it the death of dreams, relationships, ministries....hope?

What happens after death has come and gone? What do we do with the bones? Some of those dreams were wonderful and exciting...Some of those relationships were our best friends. And without hope, where is our future?
We can find a new dream. We can look for new ministry opportunities. We can make new relationships. We can put our hope in something or someone else. But the ones that have died will dry up and become dusty bones.And without the breath of life, the new dreams, ministries, relationships and hopes are just as dead as the old ones.
The Spirit of the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones and tell them to come to life. As he did, the bones came together, tendons and flesh appeared....but he saw that there was no breath in them.
Do we do that sometimes? Make our plans...move forward with our hopes and dreams only to realize there is no life in them? What are we missing? 
"Prophesy to the breath...'O breath, breathe into these that they may live..."

I wonder how many times we run ahead of Him and don't stop and ask him to "breathe into these that they may live"?
It's not just the big dreams and hopes that can become dry bones...sometimes it's just our everyday life. I was writing this today, and three times I stopped and put it away. I just couldn't seem to articulate what was in my heart and mind. It wasn't until I was sitting in prayer meeting tonight that I realized...I was one of those dry dusty bones. There is nothing huge or daunting in my life that is the problem. I am just feeling a little dry. 
I needed the breath of God...

I looked up the word "breath" in Strong's Concordance and it actually means...spirit. So, would that mean the breath of God is the Spirit of God?
As I sat there tonight, I breathed a quiet prayer, "God, I need a fresh breath of Your Spirit". And just like stopping and taking a deep breath of fresh air can relax the tension in your body, a fresh breath of His Spirit can blow away the dust and fill your spirit with His Spirit.
Pastor Alec has been speaking to us lately about being led by the Spirit in all that we do. What would happen if we asked God to breathe His Spirit on us fresh each day? Do you know what happened in Ezekiel's valley? 
"When Ezekiel did this, breath entered them and they came to life and stood on their feet.. a vast army"

What kind of army could we become? What battles would we win that perhaps we are now losing? Would He bring life back into some of those dreams we thought were dead and gone? The relationships we have lost? The hopes we had given up on? 
Breath of God, breathe on me....


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