Day 262
Ezekiel 37:9-10
"Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, 0 breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army."
God took Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and told him to prophesy to the bones. When Ezekiel prophesied, the bones came together to form skeletons. Then, flesh came on them to make complete bodies, but there was no life in them. God then told him to prophesy to the wind and command breath to come into the bodies. He obeyed, and the bodies came to life and became a great army.
This was a prophetic picture of what would happen to the nation of Israel. This prophecy has already been fulfilled, but we can learn a great lesson from it. The breath represented the Spirit of God. No matter how well-formed the bodies were, without the Spirit, they did nothing but look good. God was revealing that they could rise up and organize themselves, but they could not become a great invincible army until He moved by His Spirit to make them one. Today, in the middle east, Israel is the smallest nation - smaller than the state of Texas. It is surrounded by much larger countries that have been fierce enemies. These coward nations negotiate with Israel over pieces of their land, even though.Israel is so much smaller than they are. It is amazing to see how the Muslim countries in the middle east have failed in every effort to defeat and wipe out the Jewish state. It has frustrated them so much, that they are now trying to place themselves in a better position to win a war through peace negotiations. For most or all of them, however, their ultimate intentions are the same as they have always been. How is it that the tiny nation of Israel, not yet 50 years old, is able to maintain such a powerful position? As the book of Zechariah says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
Many churches today are full of good-looking dead bodies. They have great organizations (like the bones and flesh) that serve almost every need that exists. There are ministries for the singles, singles again, men, women, seniors, youth, ex-convicts, ex-drug addicts, recovering alcoholics, and so on. Yet, many marriages have fallen apart, and the illegitimacy rate has almost caught up with the world's. Immoral living has become a practice of those who regularly sit in the congregations. Some leaders have set poor examples. Worst of all, murmuring and complaining have increased.
In Matthew 11:16 NIV, Jesus said, "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge," and you did not mourn." Jesus was describing a people that were so self-centered that they found fault with everything. A selfish person is a miserable person who is very hard to please. No matter what you add or organize to respond to their requests, the situation can only get worse. They don't need more bones and flesh. They need a move of the Spirit of God that will cause them to live right and begin to treat others properly. A Holy Spirit outpouring will cause people to love God and care more · about meeting the needs of others, than being pacified themselves. It will bring back a compassion for the lost that has been replaced by a lust for entertainment and things. Only God has the living water that truly quenches the thirsty soul and the living bread that satisfies the real hunger of mankind. There are no valid substitutes.
Just as this is true for a body of believers and the church at large, it is also true for individuals. It is sad to see people blaming something or someone else for their misery. Many blame their husbands or wives, and others blame their children, their jobs or their financial status. When we humble ourselves and seek the face of God diligently, we will see things quite differently. A woman who is constantly filled with the Spirit can serve God more fervently and with more joy, while she copes with an alcoholic husband. A woman who has a perfectly good husband but a carnal mind will have more difficulty. The first woman will always find a reason to praise God and be thankful despite her circumstances, while the second one will always find a reason to complain, no matter how well things are going.
When we find ourselves complaining, it is not time to look to any human being or organization to pacify '!s. It is time to repent that we were idle enough to find time to complain. It is time to examine our prayer lives to see what God thinks about our spiritual conditions. It is time to see if what we sing in church is a bunch of empty words to us. It is time to set aside more time to praise and worship God privately, because that alone will make a world of difference in our attitudes, as well as our outcomes.
I repent of all complaining and looking to human and natural sources for my answers. I will turn my eyes on the Lord, where my help comes from. I will pray more. I will praise and worship Him more. With His help, my prayers, praise, worship and godly living will be a constant fragrance ascending to His throne.