This song has been speaking to me lately - Come Alive (Dry Bones), by Lauren Daigle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuCLqoxigNA
"...we call out to dry bones come alive, come alive We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise We call out to dry bones, come alive..."
As I listen, I imagine myself in the valley being referred to; you can also find the story in Ezekiel chapter 37 of the Bible. Dry bones are scattered all around me. Signs of life long withered, of hearts led away as slaves, of situations insufferable and hopeless.
Imagine with me that God is walking towards you. He’s moving through the bones, stepping over skeletons. He stands beside you and asks: “Can these bones live?”
If you’re like me, you will look around the valley and pause for a moment. You know the answer of faith. You know you should respond to the Sovereign God appropriately – in fact Ezekiel, and Lauren Daigle, speak out to the dry bones and command them to rise in His Name.
But still, you know that dead things don’t always come back to life.
I echo the words of Ezekiel in the story. “You alone know the answer to that.” I know the bones can live, but only if it is the Lord’s Will. “Only you know how the future will pan out,” I say.
Can we know for sure that our dreams, hopes and prayers will be met? Maybe you are surprised at this doubt. I’m not comfortable in suggesting that God won’t make the dry bones of our lives breathe again.
But then I remember Jesus in the garden. I remember Him crying out to the Father and asking for the punishment of sin to be taken from Him. He was destined to become a bag of bones, laid in a tomb, for only three days. He knew what was to come after, and the glory it would bring; still, He cried out for His life to be spared.
I don’t know if Jesus was aware of the answer God would give. But I know He was willing to surrender to whatever was decreed.
Standing in the valley again, surrounded by dead things, perhaps we can choose to be like Jesus. Let us call out to those dry bones. Pray for lost souls, shattered hopes, hurting hearts: Breathe, O breath of God, breathe…
And as we pray, let us fix our eyes on the Sovereign Lord. If it is His Will, these bones will rise. And even if they don’t, or their healing is delayed, or life comes from elsewhere – let us echo, with tears and sweat running like blood down our faces, Jesus’ words: Your Will, not mine.