May 7 - Ezekiel 37:1-10
This passage is an image of what had happened to the people of Israel. They were cut off from God and spiritually dead. God reveals to Ezekiel that the breath of God can bring life back to them.
There are times in the spiritual life of every person when emptiness decribes our spiritual state. We feel cut off from God, we feel there is nothing there, we feel as if we are just going through motions spiritually. Usually this experience is the result of our actions separating us from God. That was the case for the people of Israel. When we are in the midst of those times, it is so important for us to continue to practices the spiritual disciplines of bible reading, prayer, worship and being in a small group. God did not give up on the people of Israel, God does not give up on us. At just the right moment, God will breath life back into our souls.
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When things get busy, that is the time I tend to let reading the bible slip away. Then I get more frantic, and more out of focus. When I return to reading scripture and praying, clarity and focus return. I may still be as busy and still have the responsibilities I had before, but I'm able to focus better. God's breath brings a sense of peace among the chaos.
ReplyDeleteI like how the idea of breath and life is repeated in today’s passage. It deepens the realization that God gives us our life through our breath. In one instant, the bones, even with flesh and tendons, were dead, and it was God who gave them life through breath.
ReplyDeleteThere have been a few times in my life where I have felt very spiritually emptied, so much so that I have questioned my faith and existence of what I know to be true. During this time, I felt very separated and distant from God, but it is not only big moments that can lead me to feel distant. When I find myself just ‘going through the motions’-sitting in church, singing the songs, bowing my head- and completely detached, I find a decline in my mood, attitude, and outlook on life. It is in moments like these that God finds me, reminds me of what I am supposed to do and grants me direction.
Today is the national day of prayer. My prayer is that those who are ‘dead’ will be given the breath of life so they may begin living their life with God.