Waiting On God A Lesson From Ezekiel
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD." {Ezekiel 37: 1-6}
I have friends who have been in prison ministry for many years. They believed that God spoke to their hearts and told them to rent a house and start a ministry for men getting out of prison. These men would live in the house, be embraced by the church, have a system of accountability and support, get help learning skills they lacked like cooking and such, and aid the process of looking for and landing a job. They would stay in the house until they were ready to get their own place.
It is difficult for an ex-offender to get employment, even if they are not the person they were when they were convicted. Many end up back in prison simply because they cannot get a break outside of prison. My friends were positive they were called to start this ministry. But they had to wait years before things were in place for it to happen. Did they believe it could? Yes. Did they believe it would? Some days doubt crept in, but they trusted God for His timing.
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. {Ezekiel 37: 7-8}
God spoke, but nothing happened until Ezekiel acted in faith and obeyed. Sometimes we have to wait on God for a time. When Ezekiel prophesied as the Lord commanded, things started to happen, beginning with the bones rattling. Now I don’t know if this all happened in the blink of an eye, or if it took some time, because several things had to happen.
I think we can read the Bible in a few minutes what spanned days and years and lifetimes and don’t appreciate the time involved in the event. I’m just guessing this process took some doing. When the bones rattled, it might not even have seemed like much was happening.
Sometimes I think we get discouraged when the bones are rattling because we don’t recognize it.
How ever long it took, even after the bones had flesh, there was still no breath.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the end result (a living body) that we miss or overlook the process (rattling, bones come together, sinew, flesh).
Actually, in life, sometimes things appear to be the end result, when they are only part of the process. God does not always give us the details of the process like He did with Ezekiel, so we can get discouraged when things start happening, but we are not getting the end result. We can begin to wonder if God spoke to our hearts or if we imagined it. Yet, if we wait on God, even seeming roadblocks can be compasses that direct our path.
Finally my friends had the ministry set up, the money to fund it, and it was time to move. Earlier this year, they found a house that they felt would be excellent for the ministry. It seemed ideal. It needed a little work, but there was money and skilled labor within the church. They spoke to the landlord, and after a few days of getting all their ducks in a row, they put down a deposit, and began to make plans. They still needed a signature on a piece of legal paper that they would deliver to the landlord the next day and then he would give them the key and it would be final. After years of waiting and months of looking, they were excited that God was moving!
The next day when they went to give the landlord the signed paper, they noticed that there was a mattress and a couch on the front porch of the house they were renting. When they asked the landlord about it, he said he had rented it to someone else, done deal, and since they had not closed their deal with him, he felt he had the right to do this. He told them to come back the next day for their deposit because he didn’t have it with him. They were shocked! They thought God was moving. They thought this was the perfect house. It had been such a ‘God thing’ the way He had led them to find this house in the first place. If only they’d have had that signature a day sooner, the house would have been theirs.
How could they have been so wrong?!
They went to God in prayer. They thanked Him for His plan and His timing, and despite what felt like such a setback, they believed if God spoke, He would also act. They believed there must be something even better.
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. {Ezekiel 37: 9-10}
Ezekiel didn’t get all bent out of shape when there was no breath the first time. He had to have stood amazed in the process. He didn’t say “Hey God, I prophesied like you said and there is no breath, just a bunch of naked, dead, flesh covered bones .” Instead, he must have waited on God. Who knows how long that took. So the lesson is, do not measure success of whether God is working by whether or not you have arrived at the end result. Don’t miss the rattling, and don’t get impatient with the process. If I read the Word right, faith pleases God beyond our comprehension.
My friends felt discouraged, yet they trusted God had spoken, and would move. The next day as they went to get their deposit, a temporary roadblock forced them to drive down a street they would not normally have driven down. And there, on that block, was a house. It was being put up for rent that very day. It had not yet been advertised. This house was a duplex. It was bigger. It was a better location. It was cheaper rent, and in better condition. They rented both sides of the duplex – closed the deal within 24 hours, and marveled at how perfect the second house was. It so exceeded the first house, which they had once thought God was leading them towards – the house they had thought ideal. The duplex needed no work, and increased the number of men they could house. All the ducks were in a row from the lost house, so it only took a day to acquire the second one, with more reputable landlords.
This is just the first house of many as they expand the ministry. (They have a vision for a women’s house soon). Isn’t God GOOD!!
I think we all have times when we feel God has spoken to our hearts about something, and we wait. Then we get anxious if nothing happens right away. But maybe the bones are rattling, and we are so intent on the end result that we fail to see it. Or maybe it appears our answer is before us, only for things to go contrary. We may not realize the very thing that seemed contrary is a part of the process to lead us to what we are waiting for. If my friends had not had the first house fall out from under them, they would not have been on that road that led them to a temporary roadblock that took them to the right house. (Sometimes roadblocks are stops along the way so we won't make the same mistakes).
The background to this passage of scripture is that people were only calling on God when they had a need. The rest of the time they ignored Him. God wants relationship with us. He does put desires in our hearts and He wants us to wait on Him and enjoy the process, and when those desires become realities, He does not want us to ignore Him, but continue to fellowship with Him. To praise Him for His goodness, whether we get anything or not. When a dream is realized, it is hardly the end, it is a new beginning. We must never stop being desperate for God, even when times are good. He wants us to fellowship with Him whether we have all our needs, or whether we are waiting for something. Love Him just because HE IS.
And BTW, He is never late. . .
I just felt like someone needed to hear this testimony right now. I know I have a couple of things I am waiting on God for. The bones are rattling, and there have been several seeming roadblocks, but I believe with all my heart that God is good, that they are just part of the process, and He will put breath in the bones at the precise right moment, and in so doing, He will get all the glory!
endnote: as my friend shared their story, he is the one who mentioned Ezekiel and made me ponder it; then I expound upon it from my ponderings and came up with this.
I have friends who have been in prison ministry for many years. They believed that God spoke to their hearts and told them to rent a house and start a ministry for men getting out of prison. These men would live in the house, be embraced by the church, have a system of accountability and support, get help learning skills they lacked like cooking and such, and aid the process of looking for and landing a job. They would stay in the house until they were ready to get their own place.
It is difficult for an ex-offender to get employment, even if they are not the person they were when they were convicted. Many end up back in prison simply because they cannot get a break outside of prison. My friends were positive they were called to start this ministry. But they had to wait years before things were in place for it to happen. Did they believe it could? Yes. Did they believe it would? Some days doubt crept in, but they trusted God for His timing.
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. {Ezekiel 37: 7-8}
God spoke, but nothing happened until Ezekiel acted in faith and obeyed. Sometimes we have to wait on God for a time. When Ezekiel prophesied as the Lord commanded, things started to happen, beginning with the bones rattling. Now I don’t know if this all happened in the blink of an eye, or if it took some time, because several things had to happen.
I think we can read the Bible in a few minutes what spanned days and years and lifetimes and don’t appreciate the time involved in the event. I’m just guessing this process took some doing. When the bones rattled, it might not even have seemed like much was happening.
Sometimes I think we get discouraged when the bones are rattling because we don’t recognize it.
How ever long it took, even after the bones had flesh, there was still no breath.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the end result (a living body) that we miss or overlook the process (rattling, bones come together, sinew, flesh).
Actually, in life, sometimes things appear to be the end result, when they are only part of the process. God does not always give us the details of the process like He did with Ezekiel, so we can get discouraged when things start happening, but we are not getting the end result. We can begin to wonder if God spoke to our hearts or if we imagined it. Yet, if we wait on God, even seeming roadblocks can be compasses that direct our path.
Finally my friends had the ministry set up, the money to fund it, and it was time to move. Earlier this year, they found a house that they felt would be excellent for the ministry. It seemed ideal. It needed a little work, but there was money and skilled labor within the church. They spoke to the landlord, and after a few days of getting all their ducks in a row, they put down a deposit, and began to make plans. They still needed a signature on a piece of legal paper that they would deliver to the landlord the next day and then he would give them the key and it would be final. After years of waiting and months of looking, they were excited that God was moving!
The next day when they went to give the landlord the signed paper, they noticed that there was a mattress and a couch on the front porch of the house they were renting. When they asked the landlord about it, he said he had rented it to someone else, done deal, and since they had not closed their deal with him, he felt he had the right to do this. He told them to come back the next day for their deposit because he didn’t have it with him. They were shocked! They thought God was moving. They thought this was the perfect house. It had been such a ‘God thing’ the way He had led them to find this house in the first place. If only they’d have had that signature a day sooner, the house would have been theirs.
How could they have been so wrong?!
They went to God in prayer. They thanked Him for His plan and His timing, and despite what felt like such a setback, they believed if God spoke, He would also act. They believed there must be something even better.
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. {Ezekiel 37: 9-10}
Ezekiel didn’t get all bent out of shape when there was no breath the first time. He had to have stood amazed in the process. He didn’t say “Hey God, I prophesied like you said and there is no breath, just a bunch of naked, dead, flesh covered bones .” Instead, he must have waited on God. Who knows how long that took. So the lesson is, do not measure success of whether God is working by whether or not you have arrived at the end result. Don’t miss the rattling, and don’t get impatient with the process. If I read the Word right, faith pleases God beyond our comprehension.
My friends felt discouraged, yet they trusted God had spoken, and would move. The next day as they went to get their deposit, a temporary roadblock forced them to drive down a street they would not normally have driven down. And there, on that block, was a house. It was being put up for rent that very day. It had not yet been advertised. This house was a duplex. It was bigger. It was a better location. It was cheaper rent, and in better condition. They rented both sides of the duplex – closed the deal within 24 hours, and marveled at how perfect the second house was. It so exceeded the first house, which they had once thought God was leading them towards – the house they had thought ideal. The duplex needed no work, and increased the number of men they could house. All the ducks were in a row from the lost house, so it only took a day to acquire the second one, with more reputable landlords.
This is just the first house of many as they expand the ministry. (They have a vision for a women’s house soon). Isn’t God GOOD!!
I think we all have times when we feel God has spoken to our hearts about something, and we wait. Then we get anxious if nothing happens right away. But maybe the bones are rattling, and we are so intent on the end result that we fail to see it. Or maybe it appears our answer is before us, only for things to go contrary. We may not realize the very thing that seemed contrary is a part of the process to lead us to what we are waiting for. If my friends had not had the first house fall out from under them, they would not have been on that road that led them to a temporary roadblock that took them to the right house. (Sometimes roadblocks are stops along the way so we won't make the same mistakes).
The background to this passage of scripture is that people were only calling on God when they had a need. The rest of the time they ignored Him. God wants relationship with us. He does put desires in our hearts and He wants us to wait on Him and enjoy the process, and when those desires become realities, He does not want us to ignore Him, but continue to fellowship with Him. To praise Him for His goodness, whether we get anything or not. When a dream is realized, it is hardly the end, it is a new beginning. We must never stop being desperate for God, even when times are good. He wants us to fellowship with Him whether we have all our needs, or whether we are waiting for something. Love Him just because HE IS.
And BTW, He is never late. . .
I just felt like someone needed to hear this testimony right now. I know I have a couple of things I am waiting on God for. The bones are rattling, and there have been several seeming roadblocks, but I believe with all my heart that God is good, that they are just part of the process, and He will put breath in the bones at the precise right moment, and in so doing, He will get all the glory!
endnote: as my friend shared their story, he is the one who mentioned Ezekiel and made me ponder it; then I expound upon it from my ponderings and came up with this.
posted by Shirley @ 9:18 PM
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