Rattling in the valley
When we look around our world, daily happenings suggest numerous fundamental problems abound. We live in a diseased world of uncertainties, terrorism, insecurities and helplessness. Watch the news stations on televisions and radios, there is virtually no news to listen to and feel hopeful in this age. All you hear and see are killings, unending wars, immoralities, catastrophes, abuses and terror attacks. The earth is endangered because of man’s sinfulness. The consequences of abusing our freedoms are crying out in pollution, depletion of natural resources and toxic waste everywhere. The earth is crying out in: flood, earthquakes, fire disasters, hurricanes, draughts, tragic death, poverty and starvations. All these and others echo the deadness in our society: injustices, avarice, pride, anger, greed, revenge, and lust for gain, power and position, ego as well as covetousness. These are the results of our wrong choices and freedom we enjoy without concern about other people and creatures.
Each time human beings seek satisfaction elsewhere than God they suffer consequences. Whenever human beings seek independence of their creator, they end up making wrong choices. In the name of liberty and freedom, they seek after other gods and neglect the God of creation that made them, loves them unconditionally and provide for their needs; they encounter problems of unexplainable tragedies, wars and untimely death. That reminds me that many people that submit to ‘God gives and God takes’ died without fulfilling their destinies. They died because of wrong choices made by them or other people, looking for satisfaction elsewhere. They died trying to circumvent the orders of the Most High God; questioning God’s wisdom, seeking answers elsewhere for the preserves of God. Many died trying to seek freedom and disengagement from the rule of the maker of all nations. In the process they wonder if God still exist, why He did can’t rescue them? The truth is that God created us as free thinking humans with freedom and will to make choices; He respects and honors our freedom and will never go against it.
Almighty God is omnipresent-He‘s presence everywhere at every time. He’s a life in our world, sees and knows everything. King David pondered on God’s great virtues and said, “As per God his thoughts and ways are perfect….. [Psalms 18:30]. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees all of us humans; from where he rules, he looks down on all who live on earth…..knows everything we do. The Lord watches over those who obey him and those who trust in his constant love…..saves them from death and keep them alive in famine [Psalm 33:13-15, 18-19]. The Lord allows the things that happen in our world for us to see our deadness and emptiness; feels our inabilities and incompleteness without Him. Yet many see these havocs and think they are normal happenings. These do not drive them to seek hidden knowledge from the creator. God’s presence reveals his power and dominion.
In Ezekiel 37, God filled Ezekiel with his presence and took him to an unusual trip in a valley. God showed him around and opened his eyes to see the deadness in the valley. Every side Ezekiel looked, he saw dried bones, very many, scattered, lifeless, hopeless and disgruntled, disillusioned and dried corpses. This was not a pleasant sight to watch. In our age and time, God is showing us the deadness in human lives, around our world. As God asked Ezekiel, He asks us today: men and women of God, can these bones live again? This odd question caused Ezekiel pensive look and deep thought. Are there any chances that these bones can live? He should have pondered why should God ask me this question? The prophet soon realized he was dealing with the master. Ezekiel replied: Lord God only you can say; only you know. Ezekiel was saying you can do anything; nothing is impossible with you, God. What is impossible with men is possible with you [Luke 1:37; 18:27]. You do exceedingly, abundantly beyond what we think and desire.
What do we say to God, today? Do we still believe in God in this diseased society that is saturated with natural calamities and unexplainable tragedies? Is God still our number one when we feel less of his presence? Can God still provide a table in the presence of our enemies? Can he still supply food in the desert? [Psalm 78:19-20]. Can we still trust God in hopeless situations? Indeed the Sovereign Lord says to us, “When you became slaves, no money was paid to set you free……… [Isaiah 52:3ff]. Ezekiel implied, “You are God Almighty, Jehovah, El-Shaddai, I am that I am, Alpha and Omega and the Lord of all creation. I know God who you’re; you are the life and the Resurrection [John 11:25-26]. I know you’re Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent. You’re full of wisdom and surprises. The Lord made the earth by his power, by his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens……..[Jeremiah 10:12]. People of faith believe God even when they do not see the expected result, in the midst of terror attacks, hurricanes and volcanic spurs, life determined illness and death. God knows what He’s doing even when it appears meaningless and hopeless situation to us.
The Lord then ordered Ezekiel, ‘Talk, command, prophesize on these dry bones.” Speak the word of God to these dried bones. It does not matter whether there are lifeless and hopeless. God did not say walk away, cry or perform religious rituals. God knows there is power in His word. As a matter of fact, it was by His spoken word the whole wide world came into being [Hebrews 11:3]. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us who can be against us? [Romans 8:31]. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” [Proverbs 18; 21]. The words of God are like hammer that break the rocks of problems and fire that devour them as wood [Jeremiah 5:14; 23:29]. The Psalmist says Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path [119:101]. Jesus says you’re clean through the word which I have spoken unto you [John 15:3].
The word of God is not cheap; it’s Spirit and life; it’s creative and destiny molders [John 1:1-3; 6: 63; 1 Corinthians. 2:7]. Little wonder Ed Louis says, “Life is composed by our choices, constructed by our words and revealed by our character.” Say it and mean it. Although the tongue creates, it must come from the heart and be spoken [Mathew 15:8, 18-19; Romans 10:10]. Pastor Jude Chukwumaife says, “Your tongue is among many keys designed to bring you out of the gates of the hell of sickness and disease……….” What you need to defeat the problems in your life is tied to your tongue….The Lord only confirms your word, if you must see the sign of divine health in your life, you must say it. Declare what you want and then see it manifests.” Jesus assures his disciples, “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist [Luke 21:15]. God told Ezekiel if you will not walk away, believe in me and stand in partnership with me; if you speak I will honor your word; I will put breath on these dried bones and they shall live. I will cloth them with sinews [muscles] and skin; breath life into them. The bones are the frame or foundation; muscles give strength and power; skin is for covering and protection while breath gives life with Spirit [1 Kings 18:41; Acts 2:2-4]. Then you will know that I am who I say I’m. Ezekiel obeyed the Lord and prophesied onto the dried bones; obedience is better than sacrifice. Trying to guess what happened thereafter? You know nothing at all [John11; 49b]. The power of the supernatural comes with physical change.
While He was just speaking, amazing things begin to happen. Ezekiel heard a rattling noise and the bones began to join together. He watched the sinews and muscles came upon the bones; then the skin cloth both muscles and bones but there were no lives in them. Indeed, there is power in spoken words especially when you speak according to God’s directions. God honors his word and will bring it to pass. When you partner with God, you become an instrument in his hand; believe in his word, then you can speak it and God will fulfill it. God called Ezekiel, Mortal man, and asked him again, “prophesize to the wind [Spirit].” Tell the wind that the Sovereign Lord commands it to come from every direction – North, South, East and West, to breathe life into these lifeless bodies to revive them back to life. Ezekiel in obedience prophesied to the wind; breathe came into the dried bones and they came back to life. They stood on their feet and became a standing army. They became living beings and performing the various characteristics of living people: talk, walk, and breath, see, respond, eat, drink and excrete, etc.
These bones represent human beings; they are God’s people – Israel, the body of Christ, the community of faith. They are dead but look like living; they are moving corpses. Do they look like something familiar? They are lifeless, hopeless and good for nothing; depressed, confused, scattered and disgruntled. They live at the grace and mercies of God. Apart from God, they are trash. In today’s world, many people are in various valleys. Some in these valleys are unaware; have accepted the situations as normal and can do nothing about them. They expect no help anywhere and believe it’s not worth seeking for any. Unfortunately some among them are Church going Christians. They have not only become hopeless but faithless. They are in valleys of distress and confusion, in the valleys of Christlessness and in the valleys of unending crises [no peace]. They live in the valleys of disillusioned and emptiness, anguish and fruitless struggles, childlessness and joblessness. They dwell in the valleys of unhappy marriage relationship and troublesome spouses; wicked relations and life determined illnesses as well as unexplainable tragedies.
Brethren, if Christ was raised from death, then that same God shall raise those who put their trust in Him from their valleys. Jesus came that we may have life and have it in fullest [John 10:10]. Therefore anything or situation that strangles life or frustrates it, is not from God. No gifts of God add sorrows. Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God made me and the breath of God gives me life.” King David says the promises of the Lord can be trusted; they are as genuine as silver refined seven times in the furnace. [Psalms 12:6]. Brethren, no matter what valleys you find yourself, trust God enough to speak his word to those valleys. Daniel found himself in the valleys [dens] of lions and the three Hebrew boys in the furnace of fire and God saw them through. Joseph found himself in the pit, then in prison but ended up in the palace. Jesus raised Lazarus and Nain’s widow’s son.
Learn to speak the word to yourself and situations, in season and out of season. Every situation came into being by the word and there still hear him. Every mountain is removed by the unwavering power of the word. [Mark 11:23]. There is a river in our belly and living water [the word] flows from it [John 7:38; Ephesians 5:26]. “Out of our belly shall flow rivers of words that will create life and change situations. Everything that you are going to be in life is already inside of you. Everything you are going to get in life is already inside of you. Everything you want in life is inside of you. It’s how much you know how to produce words that determines how much you get.” Christianity is confession; you have been given power to confess what you believe and it shall happen.
Evangelist Ogbonnaya, Godswill can be reached by email:gkapin53@yahoo.com