How Dry I Am.

I feel dry at times in my walk with God.  You know what it's like.  For a while your relationship with God is going well.  It feels peaceful and all seems to be going well.  Then there are times when God seems far and you feel rather distracted.  You may wonder why things seem to going roughly lately.  You send up some quick prayers to God hoping that these will get you through, You may say to yourself that you need to get back to deeper prayer and reading the Word but days go by, maybe even weeks and the distractions continue but the prayer doesn't happen.  If it goes too long maybe you feel a bit embarrassed that this dry spell has happened again and you find yourself like Adam and Eve, avoiding God. 

The good news is that our God is a God of renewal and transformation.  Paul says that we should be "transformed by the renewing of our minds". Rom 12:2   More than that though we have this from Ezekiel that tells what God is like.  He takes the initiative.  He renews.  He knits things back together.

Eze 37:1  The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. 2  He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3  Then He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones become living people again?" "O Sovereign LORD," I replied, "You alone know the answer to that." 4  Then He said to me, "Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, 'Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! 5  This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!  Please read more...

 Of course, this section of scripture was written originally about the people of Israel.  They were in a serious dry spell with God, more like a drought.  Starting with little neglects from God's priorities they drifted further and further away.  The problem with drifting away from something is that this necessarily means that we are drifting toward other things.  In Israel's case, as a nation they had drifted toward and into a very dark place living as the world around them lived, fitting in in every way.

Eze 37:11  Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, 'We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.'

Even so, from this very dark place God planned and prepared a path to renewal and revival.  God says,

Eze 37:14  I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the LORD has spoken!'"

Our God is a God of renewal, revival and second and third and n more chances.  There is no end to His forgiveness or limits to His desire for our fellowship. 

He is a God for the individual and for the nations.  He is seeking our renewal and revival as individuals but He is also seeking the renewal and revival of nations.  As Christians we have been grafted into the family of Israel by faith as spiritual children of Abraham. We have read this many times and while it was given to Israel thousand of years ago it still applies today.

2Ch 7:14  Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

Shall we all take time today begin renewal and revival in our relationships with God.  Then shall we begin again praying for our earthly nations for renewal and revival.  Pray and do not stop praying.  Pray for people in power, in politics, in business, in media, in entertainment, in our families and work spaces and  schools.  The God who did not hold back His Son from us has set a path of renewal and revival for all of us.  We can all say as Israel did, 'We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.'  But we also have God's promise that if we pray, He will hear and He will heal.