As the New Year dawns, each one of us enters the New Year from various situations within and around us. Some might have an excitement about a new blossoming year as the last year would have yielded unexpected things in their lives beyond what they envisaged. Some might not bother about what is happening around them, as they would have lost their hope and live a numb life. Even many believers fall in the latter group. Though they enthusiastically seem to be participating in worships and prayers, a conversation with them would reveal their heart that has lost hope.
Though as Christians we are separated from this world, we are still in the world. Being in this world, we face many battles every day in our flesh and against the enemy. Matthew 24:13 says, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”. Many of us might have become weary of our struggles and deadened in many parts of our lives. In order to endure till the end, one needs the grace of God.
If we contemplate the passage found in Ezekiel 37, we can see the Lord’s wondrous work that brings hope out of an impossible situation. Prophet Ezekiel is taken by God to the Valley of dry bones. There, he sees a great heap of bones, and God starts to speak with Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 37:3 says, “And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” God asked Ezekiel whether it’s possible for the dried bones to receive life. Ezekiel humbly said that the Lord knows it. Many times we have our own opinions about the situations around us. Here, the Prophet wants to stand based on God’s view and not his own. He had a strong belief that God who had taken him to that place only knows the purpose.
This should be our state of mind as believers during adverse situations. We should not speak something that comes out of our mind, rather wait for God’s command. God, the only one having the perfect understanding of our plight, should be given space in order to see his marvellous works. We see here, when Ezekiel gave the answer, immediately God started to unfold the wonders He has planned.
Ezekiel 37:11 says, “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” In this scenario, the people of Israel lament about their situation. We might even undergo circumstances that make us feel that our hope is cut-off. We might see the dryness in many areas of our lives that brings us to the point of no hope. However, we should always remember that God sees and hears what His people speak.
Seeing the situation of Israelites, God speaks to Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 37:12-14, “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.”
The Lord expressed what He has planned to do for the people of Israel, who are like dry bones. These words while he was speaking, he also says that He performed it. When God says something, we have to believe that it is done. Prophet Ezekiel did the same. He believed and prophesied what God commanded him. Ezekiel 37:10 says, “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” The dry bones started to rejoin and became living bodies that stood as a great army.
This New Year, no matter what is dried and dead in your life, you just need to trust God and His promises. Even if years had passed, it does not matter to God who is outside time. You will see great things happening this year. Happy New Year!
Solomon Gnanadharisan 