Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Commanding the Dry Bones


UV 1802-10000 Commanding the Dry Bones
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Ezekiel 37 v 5

The Lord God is the One who created us and breathed life into us. Hence, even when our bones are completely dry or even the marrow in it has dried up, He can revive us. The bones of our dreams, our careers, our hopes need to be revived by the breath of the Word. The Word contains the life-giving breath or power of the Lord. It infuses us with hope even in utterly hopeless situations. The vision that the prophet Ezekiel describes is a vast valley filled with skeletons or in other words, a valley of death and devastation. In such a situation, the Lord asks him to prophecy or command the bones in the name of the Lord and promises that the skeletons will come to life. One moment Israel is a picture of defeat and disaster and the next it becomes a powerful unified kingdom under the rule of God. Our leadership is not human but it is our Lord and God who is our leader. We are His foot soldiers. The bones signify the framework or world view that each of us has. The disparate pieces of our lives that make no sense till now will come together to reveal an unity , meaning, purpose and power. Within that framework, the Lord will pour in His spirit of life and resurrection. The coming together of the bones or skeletons is a metaphor for unconnected factors of life: people, opportunities, resources, purpose and power coming together to make meaning, fullness, abundance and triumph a possibility. People without God are like dried bones. A life without purpose is like dried bones. A plan without the power to implement it is like dried bones. Power without an eternal purpose is like dried bones. A life that ends in the grave is like dried bones. The vision of a valley of dried bones is the projection of a world without God, a world without the gospel of love and the miraculous transformation that faith and love brings about in connecting the different broken and unconnected parts of our human lives.

The Lord has quickened us or made us alive with the hope of glory that we have in Christ. Christ in us is the hope of life. Christ in us is the hope of the power we need to live victoriously like a mighty army. Christ in us is the hope of being secure, having our physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs met. Christ in us is the hope of fulfilment. Christ in us is the hope of eternal life. Not only are we preserved beyond the grave but we can inspire such hope and power in others around us. We need His touch and His breath every day of our lives in order to stand up on our feet, to engage in spiritual warfare and to be victorious in all the challenges we face. The Holy Spirit is a meek but powerful Person. He can call forth light out of darkness, life out of death, faith out of faithlessness, power out of powerlessness, order out of chaos, unity out of disunity, victory out of failure. He commands the impossible to be possible.

Neither death, defeat or failure is not final or ultimate in our lives. The Lord is sovereign and absolute. He delegates His absolute power to us who believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life as He declared. We have the power to command, the power to prophecy. Nothing we do is in vain. The reference to an army is to show that there is a certain hierarchy in the anointing we receive to command the spiritual powers of life. Some are generals, some are captains and many are soldiers. According to the calling and anointing we have received, we need to exercise our authority and gifts for the glory of God, the extension of His spiritual kingdom or influence, to reclaim living souls from the spiritual dead in all nations.

Prateep V Philip

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