I am going to speak and share boldly a word that the Lord shared with me from scripture many years ago and refreshed in my heart again during this season. Please know that I share my story with humility and only to point you toward my God.
While I was walking through my journey with Lyme, I was
searching for meaning in such deep suffering. I knew that everything is
filtered through the loving and just hands of God. But honestly I was
struggling to find purpose in that season. To some extent I believe that God has
yet to reveal some of the purposes of that time. However, there is one thing
that He clearly revealed.
Despite the dry place that I was experiencing, God was calling
me to war. War on my knees. He was calling me to praise and pray like never
before. The Holy Spirit was already there but God wanted my dry bones to be
activated to action.
Let me back up just a bit. I was reading in Ezekiel 37 about
the valley of dry bones. Verse 2 states: “He led me back and forth among them,
and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very
dry.” I thought, yep, that describes me, dry! Many of my relationships had
dried up. My interactions with the world were dried up. My church life was dry.
I was exhausted and felt physically dry. DRY! DRY! DRY!
However, the scriptures in Ezekiel 37 also talk about a call
to attention. A call to come alive. Ezekiel 37:5 says, “This is what the
Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will
come to life.” I thought, alright, I am ready for some living. I am ready to be
the wife and mom that I always thought I would be. I am ready to reach out and
speak boldly about the Lord. God spoke to my soul and said but wait, that isn’t
what I meant.
God’s purpose in awakening me was to pray and praise! Let me
be clear, my circumstances did not change. My dry relationships did not change.
My interactions with the world did not change. My church life did not change.
My physical condition did not change. But God was calling my heart and soul to
change. He was calling me to purpose in the dry valley. He was calling my heart
and soul to awaken and dance!
Throughout scripture God calls us to pray and praise. These
two actions almost always go hand in hand; like one activates that other. So, I
searched out more times to praise Him during my dry season. I become a prayer,
like never before. I went to war in during my praise and pray time with Him. God
used a time that the enemy meant for evil, my time with Lyme, and He turned it
for His good. Seeds of prayer and praise were planted. I have seen Him be
victorious in my life as a result of that season of prayer and praise.
So, why share this now? As Christians, I believe that we are
in a dry bone valley right now throughout the world. We have been coasting
through our walk with God. In many ways, we have become comfortable in our
routines and rituals. I know that suffering is filtered through the hands of our
loving and just God. I know that the COVID-19 virus was filtered through His
hands. This means there has to be purpose in this suffering. Could it be that
God wants to bring His church out of the valley? Could it be that God wants His
church to be activated back to life? Could it be that He wants His church to
pray and praise? Could it be that He is calling us to war on our knees? Could
it be that He wants to awaken your heart and your soul?
I love this song that is based on Ezekiel 37. Let the words
soak into your heart and soul. Seek out the purpose in this time as a follower
of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment