31 July | Youth
«Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.» Ezekiel 37:5
What can we learn from the valley of dry bones? The Eternal is the God who gives life. God’s pleasure is to restore. And the restoration of life begins with the Word of God.
The prophet Ezekiel was in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary when God told him that He would per-form a holy transplant, taking away the heart of stone from His people and giving them a new heart. He promised that He would put His Spirit to live within us, and then we would be able to do His will (Ezek. 36:26, 27). Do you know what He did next? After revealing this, he took the prophet to a valley of dry bones and there ordered Ezekiel to prophesy the resurrection of those dead people.
The prophet obeyed, and the Lord glued bone to bone. Suddenly, the skeletons were assembled. And not only that. Through His word in the prophet’s mouth, God placed flesh, sinews, muscles, and skin on those dead bodies. The final act was still missing. Then God asked, “Can these corpses live again?” Ezekiel replied: “Lord, I no longer doubt anything! The Lord knows.” “Then prophesy to the winds, and My Spirit will enter them,” was God’s response.
The Spirit entered them, and a great army was formed. In our days, God also wants to resurrect His people, especially the youth. Ellen White says: “With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world!” (Education, p. 271).
These dry bones represent God’s church today. You look at the people and think that many are alive, but they are not. They lack power. Can God raise up a living generation today? Do you believe that a Pentecost can happen in the church in our days? It happened once, it could happen again.
If someone asks you what Jesus did in your life, my prayer is that you will be ready to answer truthfully: “I was dead, but now I am alive!”