God’s way

God’s way

Ezekiel 37:1-3 “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.”

                We see the Holy Spirit takes Ezekiel to a place where a man dislikes going. He takes him to the valley which was full of bones. He is taken to the valley filled with dry bones that had no hope in ever being revived. When God asks if the bones will be revived and Ezekiel replied that ‘O Lord GOD, thou knowest’. Even though Ezekiel could not believe it, he did not utter a word with disbelief. Ezekiel leaves it in God’s hands and surrenders himself to God’s ways. The Lord can change a dead situation in to one filled with life. This is the way of the Lord.

The Lord did not take Ezekiel to a different situation or a place in order to bring in a miracle. He changed the same deadly place into a miraculous valley. Sometimes the Lord will lead his people to the way where we dislike going. But what we do not understand is the hidden plans that God has in store for us. Even in our lives, the Lord is able to change our terrible situation into a miraculous one. Today, let us see the ways that God led Ezekiel and the Israelites which were unknown unbelievable and astonishing.

Saw

Ezekiel 37:1-2 “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.”

                Ezekiel would not have imagined that Lord will take him to a valley of bones. The place was not a treat to his eyes but it was disgusting to be around that place. The Lord sets Ezekiel in the midst of the valley and made him pass by them all around. The Lord wanted him to see the situation that he is put into. He wanted Ezekiel to see the place full of dry bones to overcome the fears. The bones were found in the open place. It refers to an insecure situation. Ezekiel submits to the Lord’s leading and faces the deadly situation. Ezekiel saw the hopeless situation and he believed that God alone can change this situation. As a result the Lord revived the bones that are decomposed. Even in our lives, when we see our problematic situations, we need to boldly pass around it. We need to learn to face any bad situations in our lives with the strength of God.

Heard

Ezekiel 37:4 “Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.”

                Over here the Lord insists Ezekiel to listen to him. For our present situation to be changed, we need to hear the prophetic utterances of God.  When all the dry, hopeless and dead situations hear the word of God, there will be a movement. Even in our lives, when we keep hearing the word of God we will witness a miracle. Ezekiel knew that the powers of God are unlimited and can revive the dry bones. Ezekiel answers his question saying, ‘O Lord GOD, thou knowest’ and turns the conversation back to the Lord. Just as Ezekiel proclaimed ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord’, we ought to proclaim this and encourage those who are unable to hear the word of the Lord. By hearing the word of God, it will revive the dead things.

Speak

Ezekiel 37:9 “Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

                Thirdly, we see the act of speaking prophesy. The first two acts of seeing and hearing have prepared the dry bones for revival. When God’s word is spoken, we see a rattling in the bones that were without any movement. The word of the Lord will bring in a movement to the dead things. We the children of God should take in charge of our situations by speaking and praying for the bad situations in our lives. In the above passage, we see the Lord asks Ezekiel to blow which signifies the act of faith. The actions of faith change the situation in the valley.  In Ezekiel 37:7 ‘So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.’  When Ezekiel believed and started to speak, there came a great noise.  The bones that once had no structure were put into form.

We read in Ezekiel 37:10 ‘So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.’ As recorded in the verse, ‘stood up on their feet’, it refers that we were unable to stand in many situations and in many attempts, but now things will change and we will stand up.  When seeing hearing and speaking happened, the breath came into the bodies. Until Ezekiel 37:8 – the word ‘Them’ simply meant a collection of bones and flesh but from 37:9 – the word ‘Them’ meant a vast army that is alive. Even in our lives, the power of the Lord will revive all the dead things and will enable us to witness miracles. The words of the Lord will shake the unshaken and will rise up to their feet those cannot even stand.  Therefore, let us all submit ourselves into his way like Ezekiel.