Stop Doing God’s Job

Have you ever been in a situation (or season of life) where you felt like nothing you did was working? Perhaps you were doing everything right but it felt like you were still hitting a brick wall.  If you have been a Christian for long, you may have even experienced this with your own relationship with Christ… a sort of “dead area”  where you could not hear Him, feel Him, and no matter how many prayers you sent up or Scriptures you read- you just could not break through. God seemed silent and uncaring; you were at an impasse spiritually and nothing you did could break you out of it.  This is an extremely hard place to be in, but one that God often uses to either teach us something or to break us away from sin.

I have recently given this  season of silence a name; I call it- The Valley of Bones. Oooooohhhhh creepy. Let me explain why this is fitting in my opinion:

First of all, when you are in this empty place, for many, there is a feeling of hollow pointlessness. You feel dead inside and more often than not, your hope is no where to be found. While you may not be thinking of death itself- when you cannot connect with the Father, there is a sort of decay that’s felt.

Secondly, this place is- and only is- a valley. It’s an area that will be gotten past, it’s just we can’t see how large the valley is. We may feel as though we’ll remain in this place forever and that God will never show Himself real to us again. Remember the Israelites in the desert though? 40 years was an awful long time to be lost in a desert… but God remained faithful.

The Valley of Bones was  a place that Ezekiel the Prophet visited (not 100% on whether it was an actual valley that the Holy Spirit took him to, or a vision) regardless, the  point of the experience was/is clear and powerful. Ezekiel was a prophet during the time that  King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon ransacked, destroyed, and exiled  the people of Judah- including precious Jerusalem. Ezekiel was given visions of consequence to the  people because of their blatant disobedience of God’s commands and for (once again) worshiping idols instead of the One True God. However, Ezekiel’s messages were also ones of hope; although they were scattered to countless nations, God promised to one day bring them back to their promised land and make them His holy people again.

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again 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 that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 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 come to life.’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.   (Ezekiel 37:1-10)

For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:24-28)