1820 Too Far Gone

Are you faced with something that is simply too far gone? Something that has no hope left for the future. Something so broken there’s no chance of repair.

Impossible.

May I remind you of Luke 1:37, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” No thing … no, not even your thing. With God, it IS POSSIBLE. Without God, there’s no way.

So, we’re left with a choice … are you going to give this to God? Are you going to bring it to the throne and surrender it to him? Are you going to seek his will, his way, and his timing? Are you going to trust him with the details? Are you going to be obedient?

And by obedient I mean are you going to forgive? Are you going to let it go? Are you going to love? Are you going to trust? If you’re not willing to be obedient, then you’re not really giving it to God, so your impossible will remain impossible.

My sister, has your hardened heart and wounded spirit gotten in the way of your obedience? Really, have you become bitter, vengeful, hateful, resentful and stubborn in your hurt and now you’re a road block for what God says is still possible?

Let me ask you, is that what you really want? Do you really want to block the miraculous work of God in your life, in your family, in your future? I don’t think that’s what you really want. It’s what you’ve settled for in your hurt, but it’s not what you really want because it’s not God’s best for you.

So, God wants to show us something today. “Us” as in those who are faced with something that seems simply too far gone. Us who have lost hope for the future of something. Us who are facing reality, and reality says this is far beyond repair now. Us who have been hurt by what has been damaged or lost. Let God show you something. Stay open to the power of his word.

Ezekiel 37: 1-14 – the story of the dry bones. There’s a song by Elevation Worship titled “Rattle” about this story. Now as we read this, understand this is a vision given to Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a prophet who lived hundreds of years before Jesus. He was a spiritual watchman, which meant he was in charge of hearing from God then warning the people. This is one of Ezekiel’s visions from God that he was told to share.

The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. 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. 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.”
Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”
So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.
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.’ Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. 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!’”

What does this mean to you as you face something that is simply too far gone? What does this mean to you where there is no hope for the future? What does this mean for your thing that is so broken there’s no chance of repair? It means with God, it’s NOT.

It’s not too far gone. It’s not a future with no hope. It’s not so broken there’s no chance of repair.

God is in the business of radical revival … and honey, it sounds to me like that’s precisely what you need. RADICAL REVIVAL.

Understand, what God is showing Ezekiel is not only something that had been dead a really long time, it was something that was a total disgrace. It was a disgrace to have a body not properly buried. It was a shame for this to happen. In fact, not burying a dead body was considered a sin punishable by law. And this is a valley absolutely full of disgrace, full of sin, and full of way too far gone.

BUT WHAT DID GOD DO WITH IT? What God did with this valley of disgrace is what God has the power to do with your valley of disgrace. The power is his … have you been standing in the way?

Now, understand this, Ezekiel didn’t look at this valley of bones with hope, but he looked to God with hope. Ezekiel didn’t see the potential in these disgraced bones, because there was none. The only hope and potential was in God.

Maybe that’s where we’ve been messing up. We’ve been looking to our broken relationships and messy situations with hope. “Oh I hope he will change. Maybe this time she’s really going to change. Hopefully this will be when things change.” NO – WE CAN ONLY LOOK TO GOD WITH HOPE.

God asks Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” And Ezekiel’s response is not hope in the situation, his hope is squarely based on God alone. That’s the key! He says, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know the answer to that.”

We so quickly assume we know what God wants in the situation. We push our desires on him and offer our game plan to the Almighty. I’m constantly giving God suggestions on how to fix this mess. Why? Because I’m still hoping in the mess … and I’m continually disappointed.

My only hope is God. The rest of this is impossible. But I can’t pretend to know what God wants or how he will do it. God, ONLY YOU KNOW! My hope is in you alone.

And what we see happen next is the impossible. Those dry bones begin to rattle. They begin to form. And let me tell you something, when God puts something back together, he does it perfectly. Nothing will be out of place. Nothing will be missing. Nothing will be left broken. These skeletons were not misfits, they were put back together with perfection.

But they were still just dead bodies. They looked better with skin and flesh, but they were still missing one thing: THE BREATH OF GOD.

“BREATHE INTO THESE DEAD BODIES SO THEY MAY LIVE AGAIN.”

And when the breathe of God came into these formerly scattered dry bones, “they all came to life and stood up on their feet – a great army.” You know what that means … it means they assembled for a mission. A great army means they were revived for a purpose and they were ready to follow the orders of the one who gave them life.

When God revives that which is too far gone, he has a purpose for that revival. His breath is NOT TO BE WASTED!

If you’re walking around with something God revived for you, you better not be wasting it. It better be serving the one who miraculously breathed life into it again.

Bring your broken heart and your shattered dreams and lay them here before God in this valley of dry bones. You can’t carry this on your own. You can’t fix it. And you absolutely have to stop placing your hope in it. Your hope can only be in God. And God’s ways are better than your ways. His thoughts are higher than your thoughts. He doesn’t need your suggestions on how to fix this. He needs your hope, faith and trust fully on him with no circumstantial strings attached.

ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT WILL BE REVIVED AGAIN.

But as long as you try to do it on your own, it certainly won’t happen.

God’s word has miracle working, life giving power. That is your answer. His Spirit is needed for life. Seek that and only that.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com