[ can these bones live? ]

   4th of july, some years back.

   i was at the beach with my parents, staying with some family friends at their beach house to celebrate the weekend.

   while there, one of my friends and i decided to go exploring on the beach. after walking up the beach a while, we decided to go inland, following one of the many small streams/rivers that flow from the mainland out to the ocean.

   we waded nearly waist-high most of the time through the rather luke-warm water, jumping from rock to rock occasionally, and made our way through the tall sea grass that grew along the banks.

   eventually, we found ourselves decently far inland. at one point, we discovered a bunch of bones laying around, half-covered in the sand/dirt mixture of the river bank. it was one of those discoveries that many people would probably find disgusting, i mean, they were bones and all. but i found them intriguing, as i generally do with the body when it comes to muscles, the way things work, etc.

   i walked over and picked them up. it was an odd collection of bones. none that seemed to fit together. we stood there, inspecting them for a few minutes, questioning what sort of animal they were from. we brought them back to the house with us, and shared the story. each took their turn to guess what animal it was, and how they managed to end up where they were.

   now imagine ezekiel.

   he's standing in a valley, having been brought there by God.

   i imagine it was a bleak place. he's walking back and forth, and the valley is covered with bones. dry. they had been there for some time.

   "son of man, can these bones live?"

   i don't know about you, but i think my immediate thought would be are you crazy?

   these bones? how could that be possible. the barest amount of the human form - the structure that creates the foundation for the rest of the body to be formed upon. it is grotesque, is it not? imagine coming to a place of, well.. death. a place where many who once lived, now lay having passed long ago. not a hopeful place. the initial mindset would not be one of "this is no biggie."

   but God was and is not limited by that. His plans were far greater than the desolate picture the valley held.

miss kayla photography.

 
   ezekiel's response: "o Lord God, you know."

   you. know.

   what happens next is mind blowing.

   "then he said to me, 'prophesy over these bones, and say to them, o dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. thus says the Lord God to these bones: behold, I will cause breath [or spirit] to enter you, and you shall live. and I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'" -ezekiel 37.4-6

    what.

   for those of you who have read 'the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe [by c.s. lewis]', or otherwise seen the movie - there is a great illustration of this. after Aslan was slain by the white witch - and is resurrected again, as witnessed by lucy and susan - he tells them to get on his back. they ride to the castle, and he begins to walk around and breathe upon the statues of an army that had been put under a spell by the witch, which turned them to stone.

   and one by one, these statues come to life. the spell is broken. and afterwards, there is an army once again awakened and restored standing before them.

   the mere breath of the Lord awakens and restores what was once dead. what had been laying around on the valley floor, drying up for years in the hot sun. a mere form. a scaffolding to a once-living creation.

   i believe we need to come from a place of just simply discovering dry bones and questioning what they are and how they came to be - to calling them to life. 

   God created us, intended us, to be full of life, His breath [spirit].

   this is not just for those who do not know Him. there are many believers who are not awakened. this is for us all.

   awake o sleeper. 

   it is about realizing the potential that each one of us has - that He has given to us for a. very. specific. reason. it is not given to be wasted. and it is certainly not too late.

   when we look at the valley of our lives - do we see a place of death? a place that may have once been living, full of potential, but is now a place that holds no hope - a place of dried up ruin? perhaps it appears chaotic; bones that don't seem to fit together. but guess what: God brings order; He restructures accordingly.

   the Lord wants to breathe into these places and restore the potential and purpose within us. He wants to redeem and rebuild on the foundation that has been left drying in the sun for years, untouched. 

   and what's more, we have the ability to prophesy - to speak to the potential - to these dry bones. when we discover dry bones lying about, we speak to what they were created for, bringing life and breath around them, in them, once again. the focus is not why or how - but of restoration. of being alive.
 
   His spirit brings life. and it is the life we need, what fills us, leads us, renews us. without it, we are shells.

   "so i prophesied as i was commanded. and as i prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling [or an earthquake], and the bones came together, bone to its bone. and i looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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 the breath, thus says the Lord God: come from the four winds, o breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.' so i prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." - ezekiel 37.7-10

 
   we are called to be that army. to be awakened. once dry bones restored and functioning to the created purpose. especially now, in these times.

   "son of man, can these bones live?"

   yes.





   and you?

   will you live?