Listen

He said to me, “Human one, these bones are the entire house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely finished.’ So now, prophesy and say to them, The Lord God proclaims: I’m opening your graves! I will raise you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to Israel’s fertile land. You will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you up from your graves, my people. I will put my breath in you, and you will live. I will plant you on your fertile land, and you will know that I am the Lord. I’ve spoken, and I will do it. This is what the Lord says.”

Ezekiel 37:11-14

Think

“Our bones have dried up. We have no more hope. We are lost!” Sound familiar? Maybe you don’t use those exact words, but the feeling you do know. It’s what you feel when you watch the news and everything seems to be going from bad to worse. It’s what you feel when someone who should be protecting you fails you. It’s what you feel when the world tells you that you’re not enough or that you’re not smart enough, attractive enough, strong enough, or valuable enough.

But here comes the powerful thing about our text for today: God does not hear that “we are lost” and say “they are right.” God hears that pain and responds with a concrete promise: “I will open their graves.” That means that whatever has you trapped: anxiety, shame, loneliness, fear… does not have the last word. God promises to take us out of the places that bury us alive, and establish us on solid ground. Not because we are strong enough, but because God is faithful.

Leila Ortiz

Question to Ponder:

What is the “grave” you need God to pull you out of today?

Pray

God, sometimes I feel lost and hopeless. But you promise that my graves are not the end of me. Breathe your Spirit upon me, and lift me up to live with purpose and confidence in your love. Amen.

Go

Renewed by the breath of God that lifts what has fallen and gives life to what seemed dead, go out into the world with courage and tenderness. Someone needs to hear today that hope has not ended.