Valley of Dry Bones

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time resting, sitting still, not striving, or trying to make something happen.

I had the opportunity to serve as a counselor for youth camp this past July, and it was an incredible experience.  On Wednesday, I felt like God gave me a word for one of the students on my team, but I was struggling to find the opportunity to talk to her. Almost having given up sharing it with her in person, I wrote it down on paper. If nothing else, I could simply hand it to her if the opportunity arose. It frustrated me that I couldn’t connect with her, but it just never worked out.  

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.” So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” - Isaiah‬ ‭30‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Israelites would not enter or walk in the rest of God and found themselves like the valley of dry bones.

“The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’” So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army. Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’” - Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So many times I can get ahead of God and try to make something happen on my own.  There are numerous examples of that in the Bible - Abraham and Sarah, King Saul, etc., but all God asks of us is our obedience.  When I don’t follow His guidance and rest, I begin to spiritually dry up on the inside which could lead me to feel like the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37.  There were two parts to the restoration of the dry bones God showed Ezekiel:

1. Ezekiel spoke the word of life over the dry bones (v. 4-7), and the bones were reconnected. But the bodies still lacked the breath of God.
2. Then God told Ezekiel to speak breath into the dead bodies, and that’s when they became a mighty army.

“Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”” - Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There was a process the dry bones had to go through to come back to life. Yes, we serve a God of the sudden, but I’ve learned more through the process of restoration than if God had restored everything in an instant.  

Let’s return to the story from youth camp. On Thursday night, the last night of camp, I was asked to help pray over students. After praying for a couple of students, this particular young lady was directed to me and my prayer partner. I couldn’t believe what God had orchestrated!  She didn’t even know why she had come out for prayer; she just felt like she needed to! I was able to read the Word God gave me for her and pray over her.  I could not have worked it out any better!  After we finished praying and she walked away, God reminded me that He will always work everything out when He has given the assignment.

Restoration starts with rest. We have to rest in God, in His Word, and breathe His Spirit to sustain us in our relationship with God and others.  I don’t know about you, but the longer I have strived or tried to make it happen on my own, the longer it takes for me to stop, sit still, and be refreshed by the Holy Spirit.

JOURNAL:  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the areas of your life where you are not resting in Him or striving to make something happen.  Ask Him for a scripture or scriptures to memorize and remind yourself of what He has promised.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

PRAYER:  God, thank You for Your promise of rest and quietness, which produces confidence and strength.  I know the only way to walk in Your rest and quietness is to stop striving and trying to make something happen on my own.  Help me discern when to stop and when to move.  Thank You for the promises You are fulfilling in my life even now.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!