The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 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 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.”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, 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.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.
There is much that can be gleaned from the study of this passage, but today, I want us to look at the simplicity of this truth: life came in the valley of death. Maybe you are in a season that looks like death. Maybe today you look around and only see the remnants of life, dried up and decaying.
God sees something else.
God sees the potential for a great army of living, breathing people. Where we see death, God sees life ready-to-happen.
Today, take a moment in the journey of life to drink some water and take a break. During this break, remember that the dry places often make great places for God to do miracles that look like life.
What’s our part? Look at Ezekiel: allow God to take you where He wants to take you. Allow Him to lead you, no matter how strange the path. Do what He tells you to do. Hear His voice to understand what is happening (even if the understanding comes after the miracle).
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to listen. Perhaps today God wants you to speak something life-giving over the death before you. Maybe today God wants you to change your perspective to His. Perhaps today God wants you to follow Him somewhere unusual and uncomfortable.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!