Dry as a Bone

We finally made it to September. Summer is fast coming to a close, and soon fall will be upon us once more. Not that I'm complaining, mind you; fall is my favorite season, and I'm ready for cooler, wetter weather. It seems like the last month or more has been exceptionally dry, and as a lover of rain, I'm waiting for a soggy autumn.

God gives us the heat and the rain we need; His power controls even the weather, a theme we see throughout Scripture. While the land of Israel during Elijah's three-year drought may be a model image of things being dried out, my favorite image of dryness comes in Ezekiel 37: the valley of dry bones. The prophet is whisked away to a valley filled with enough bones to make an army. They're dried out, marrow-less, one step away from becoming fossils. When the Holy Spirit enters them, though, they form a great force of living, breathing beings.

It's a picture that gives me hope. There are times in life when I feel dried up and lifeless. People have failed me, God seems distant, nothing brings me any enjoyment. Just when I feel at my lowest, I finally remember to look again towards God. He breathes life into me, and I again become a living soul, reanimated once more like a valley of dry bones coming together to form an army. The rains come again, the drought breaks, and God is in the rain.

If you're facing your own spiritual drought, if you feel trapped among dry bones, remember the author and sustainer of life. He can revive you again.