Dry Bones

“The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.

He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” – Ezekiel 37:1-3 (NIV)

Going through what seems like never-ending hurdles with my daughter’s health has led me to reflect and ask God if I’ve done something to cause these issues. Could the things I thought were helping have actually hurt her? I wonder why such a young person has to face so much? Why are others experiencing healing while she continues to suffer?

Why do I hope she will be healed, yet it feels like she’s been overlooked?

The truth is, I don’t have the answers, but I believe God wanted to guide me to the questions so I could discover the truth about Him. Throughout it all, I didn’t realize how I had been feeling. After reading what the people of Israel said in verse 11, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off,” I felt as though this could be me. I continued reading to see how the Lord replied, “My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and have done it, declares the LORD.”

It feels as though we have been in a grave of illness, and the Lord wants us to have hope because He says in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” I believe He will open our graves because He lives and wants us

to live in Him and through Him.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your word. I see that the bones didn’t have to perform anything special for You to bring them to life. You are aware when we are like the dry bones and feel we have no life or hope. You give us hope by bringing us back to life and out of the graves of our circumstances. May Your light shine upon us and Your glory be revealed.

This devotion by author Terrie Miles is exclusively and solely shared with permission to New Beginnings Church. Any unauthorized printed reproduction, sharing, or use of this material is prohibited.