Rivers in the Wasteland

I had the privilege of leading a short devotional for the group one morning while we were in Israel.  Some requests have been made for me to write it down, so I will record it here...

Ezekiel 37: The Valley of Dry Bones

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 alone 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.

As I reflected on these words, I was reminded of the change in landscape as we drove from the Golan Heights, an area of lush green pastures and agricultural abundance, into the desert landscape surrounding the Dead Sea.  Honestly, as the scenery changed to desert, I thought to myself that the land there matched very closely to the landscape of my heart over the past year and a half.  My spiritual walk with God has been more like a desert than an oasis.  

But in the middle of the desert, God began to speak whispers to my heart.  First, at the caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, He reminded me that great treasure can be found in the most unexpected places.

Next, at En Gedi, He showed me that even in the middle of a desert He is able to provide streams of fresh water to quench our thirst.  He is able to do even that which seems to be impossible to us.

Finally, He showed me several times throughout the trip, through the words of hope and encouragement of many new friends, that what we see as bad, He can use for good.  He spoke through others to remind me that there IS a light at the end of my tunnel.  That He is still here and that there is meaning to be found in the pain.

Before I left to go on the trip I read a book by C.S. Lewis.  A quote stuck out to me that fits this analogy perfectly.  He says, "Ah, the Saved... what happens to them is best described as the opposite of a mirage.  What seemed, when they entered it, to be the vale of misery turns out, when they look back, to have been a well; and where present experience saw only salt deserts, memory truthfully records that the pools were full of water." (The Great Divorce, 69)

 My prayer for each and every one of us, whether we are struggling through a desert or we have been blessed and led by quiet waters and rich pastures, is that God would breathe new life into each and every one of us. May we recognize His voice no matter where we find ourselves in life.

Amen.