Hope amidst Hopelessness: Sunday

Sunday March 14, 2021

Created by Moriah Mills

Ezekiel 37:1–14 (NIV)

“The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on 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 had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and 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, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

Devotion

Can these dry bones live? We have been in a weary season. Maybe throughout the past year you’ve found yourself feeling as though your bones are dried up, and that hope is lost. After such a long time of uncertainty, exhaustion, isolation, fear, and so much more, you might be finding it difficult to feel truly alive. Close your eyes, and take a deep breath in and out — those feelings are valid. Take another deep breath in and out: the breath in your lungs is the breath of the Creator, who loves you so dearly. When we are feeling hopeless and like nothing can be done about our aching and dry bones, we can hold onto the promise that God will breath new life into us. The breath of our Creator brings dry bones to life, so that we might be not only alive, but living fully and abundantly into the life that we are promised in Christ. Hold onto hope that these dry bones can indeed live.

Prayer

Good and gracious God, help us to find hope in this weary season. Amen.