“God grabbed me. God’s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Master God, only you know that.” He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!’” Ezekiel 37: 1-4 I have never been one to believe in luck, or coincidence. I have always believed in God’s divine providence. There is a bible study I read from every morning. It always contains a scripture lesson to go along with the study. It’s called, “Disciplines”, this study is from the Upper Room. Time after time, I am amazed at how the lesson for the day, or for the week, is so pertinent to what is going on in my life. This week the study centers on the story of Ezekiel 37:1-14. If you are not familiar with the story, it appears at first to be a very strange situation. God takes Ezekiel out to an open area which is strewn with old bones, bleached from the sun. The Lord asks Ezekiel if he thinks that those bones can live. Wisely, Ezekiel responds with, “God, only you know that answer”. God then proceed to breath life into the bones. They rise up, allowing God to show Ezekiel exactly who HE is. In Ezekiel’s time, there was a lot of upheaval in the world, just like there is now. Families were unable to be with one another, and there was a lot of uncertainty in their world. Does this sound familiar? Just last night, our Governor told all Washingtonians to be safe, and to stay at home. This goes against what most people enjoy doing. Yet we have been asked by our elected leaders to do this. We must comply with their request. Moments like these truly test our faith. We may feel like our foundation has been disrupted. We look back, and want things to be like they were, especially since the footing ahead of us looks very unstable right now. Throughout scriptures, there are many times of instability. Yet God was faithful to His people, and the same God is faithful to us. Right now, we are to focus on today, not yesterday, and not tomorrow. Matthew 6:34 says, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things comes up when the time comes” (The Message). This is not the time for people who are challenged with anxiety, like me, to really let that emotion over run our lives. Yet, God is so very clear. Do not worry. Now, God doesn’t say, “Just sit back, and I’ll take care of every earthly need. I’ll pay your bills, buy your food, fix that fence, and all the other things which need to be done in our life.” God can help provide for our physical needs, but He is just as concerned with our spiritual needs. This is not the time to say, “Where is God?” This is the time to see, to feel, and to ask for God to be in every aspect of our lives. Prayer for the Day God, The world seems upside down right now. Many people are anxious. Give us your peace. Reassure us that you are the God of resurrection: of making dry bones live! Help us to focus on what we can control, and leave everything else in Your hands. As much as possible, help us focus on the here and now, trusting that You will help us deal with the hard things, whenever they come. We pray this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.
