The Valley of Bones

I am sure I’m not the only one who has experienced a spiritual desert—a proverbial wasteland in the Christian journey where nothing seems to matter, nothing that worked before does anymore. There’s a felt distance from God. Everything that helped in the past to connect with God, defeat strongholds, and serve others, doesn’t cut it anymore.

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Have you had that headache before? The one you only get by hitting your head against that immovable brick wall?

 

This place is uncomfortable. It’s a “dead zone” where you can’t hear from or feel God, no matter how many prayers and Scriptures scatter the floor. He is silent, and you cannot break the ice.

 

Regardless of why these seasons happen (whether due to a sin-separation or God’s training), they can be used to mold us, convict us, help someone else, or all of the above, as long as we refuse to waste the pain. God will resurrect us and breathe life into us again!

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DON’T WASTE YOUR PAIN!

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I call this spiritually silent desert, The Valley of Bones. (cue creepy music)

 

This valley is thick with feelings of hopelessness, emotional decay, and spiritual dryness. It can be likened to depression, but somehow it’s more spiritual; it’s just different.

I’ve been there, and it hurts.

If you’re in that valley now, the key to crossing the desert is to remember that this is—and ONLY is—a valley. It’s a geographical blip on your timeline that will be journeyed through and gotten past. We can’t see how large the valley is, but when we commit to following God, we can rest knowing that He will not keep us there forever. Remember the Israelites in the desert? Forty years is a long time to be walking in circles in a giant litterbox, but God knew what He was creating in them and preparing them for. He remained faithful, even when they didn’t.

 

This “valley of bones” idea is taken straight from a prophet’s experience. Ezekiel had his desert days, and the man was no stranger to hopeless situations. He was among the Jewish captives carried away to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar when the ruler ransacked and destroyed the kingdom of Judah, forcing its inhabitants into exile. 
 

So, let’s take a look at this bone pit that Ezekiel saw—
 

In Ezekiel 37, the Spirit of God led the prophet to a valley piled high with dry bones. In the following verses, we see how God painted a dramatic picture of resurrection to show that He would once again breathe hope and life into His people.

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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. 2 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. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, cause flesh to come upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 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. 8 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. 9 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.” 10 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.

 

God painted a graphic picture for Ezekiel to show that the barren wasteland that His chosen nation had become would one day rise again as the sanctified children they were created to be. They would again be united in their own country—with new breath, strength, and a renewed love for the Father. This story of God’s redemptive promise over His people applies to us, too; He speaks the same redemptive promise over us as His adopted sons and daughters!

 

Looking back in Ezekiel 36, God promised very specific things to the nation of Israel and His children.

 

24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 

 

Here is the tie-in:

We can claim these same promises over our lives when we are in our valley of bones, feeling like a pile of spiritual decay and dust. Even though Israel was first required to return to God and obey His laws, the tangible change that would occur in their hearts was God’s responsibility, not theirs!

 

Read all the “I” statements in those verses: “I will take you... I will cleanse you... I will give you a new heart... I will cause you to walk in My statutes.” That means that when we follow after God, He does the hard work inside of us. We obey—He restores/changes/redeems us! The hard part is His job because we could never do it!

My valley season was the most brutal struggle of my entire life (and I’ve had my share). I felt like God WOULD not hear me, and I was utterly alone. I tried everything to get back to the relationship I had with Him before I found myself in the desert: more Scripture, more praying, more repenting, more EVERYTHING! Nothing worked. I expected my discipline to fix a problem I couldn’t see.

 

God took me through that valley to teach me countless lessons and to break open some festering bitterness in my heart. It was a gradual process—coming out of that place, but He DID bring me out of it, and I have a testimony because of it. He did the work in HIS timing, in HIS way—He is always faithful! God breathed new life into my dry bones and put a heart of flesh within me.

If you’re familiar with the valley, as hard as it may be, let God do His work. Stay faithful to Him, even if you can’t feel Him right now. Rely on His promises, and trust in His methods—let God do His job, and He will stand those bones on living, solid ground!