Ezekiel
The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel 37:1-3
That seems like an absurd question! Talk about a hopeless situation! That’s how the remnant of Israel in captivity felt. Their homes were destroyed, their loved ones were slaughtered, their land was desolate. All that was left of the once great nation was a small remnant now living in a foreign land, surrounded by heathen. They said, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” (Ezekiel 37:11) Boy, did God have a message for them!
What could be more hopeless than a valley full of dry, sun-bleached bones? Yet, in one of the most dramatic demonstrations of God’s power, He showed that with the LORD our situation is never hopeless. (If you don’t remember the account, read Ezekiel 37 and try to imagine seeing all those bones rattling around and coming together, then coming to life.)
All of our “hopeless situations” are caused by sin, either our own or someone else’s. Jesus alone has overcome all sin and gives life to our dry dead bones. So instead of moping around feeling sorry for ourselves for all our problems; instead of being agitated and fearful or angered by all the news of evil in the world, let us focus our attention on our gracious LORD who promises to make everything work out for our good. Look to our Savior who has cleansed us from all sin and filled us with His grace and love. Our situation is never hopeless when we have the LORD as our God and Savior.
Dear Father, we thank you for always lifting us up from our dark and hopeless moments and giving us true peace and hope in You. Amen.