Ezekiel 36 & 37 are probably two of my most favorite chapters in the bible.
I won't write them all out here - but I encourage you to go read them for yourself.
The imagery is just beautiful. I couldn't imagine being Ezekiel and watching those dry bones come to life before my eyes. A whole army of them.
God tells Ezekiel that these bones are Israel (v. 37:11) and He is bringing them back to life and restoring them and their nation - even after all of the horrible acts they have committed.
Just try to think about how powerful God is - how He is the giver and taker of life.
With one breath He can resurrect an army and with one thought He can destroy the whole world
I know I don't fully understand just how powerful He is. And I never will. But I don't really have to to grasp even a little, just how gracious He is.
Israel betrayed Him time and time again. He brought them out of a land where they were slaves and had nothing of their own - and yet they still became impatient (even while being saved) and they created new gods to worship apart from Him.
Sometimes I think about how disgusting my sins are and I try to comprehend just how lost I truly am. I start to think about how I am nothing on my own and even in those thoughts, sin starts leaking in, telling me that nothing could ever save me.
But I am saved. HE saved me...
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 36: 25 & 26
If the same God of the Bible, the One who cleansed Israel and pardoned them of their sins, is the same One who pardons me - how can I even begin to doubt the trueness and validity of it? How can I even allow myself to get caught up in thinking, even for a moment, that I need more to be cleansed?
Someone once told me, "I don't want to know all of the horrible things going on in my heart."
But isn't that what we're supposed to be doing? Asking God to reveal to us the deepest depths of our hearts so that we can then ask Him to change it and make it more like Him? It's terrifying - of course - knowing all of the evil that is inside of us. I only know a small portion of the sin I am capable of and the idea of knowing I am capable of so much more and possibly worse is not a fun one.
I think one of my favorite part of Ezekiel is when God explains His reason for healing the land...
"Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes." (v. 36: 22 & 23)
God has my best interest at heart. But only because He has HIS best interest at heart.
I have chosen to follow a great and mighty Creator. A Creator who loves me far beyond my understanding. A Creator who not only knows what is best, but always does what is best.
This is why I never need to fear. My view of what is "best" changes daily - my judgment can be inconsistent and unpredictable.
But the Lord remains constant and unshaken. He has one ultimate plan for the entire world. And no matter what I do - His plan remains the same. When I wander and get off track - He brings me back to Him because His plan is ultimate. I have given my life to Him so no matter what I do, I cannot separate myself from Him, because He has chosen me as part of His plan.
He will show His glory and power time and time again to prove how great He is.
He will even take a sinner as pathetic and lost as me, dust me off, breathe air into my lungs, put a new heart in my chest - put HIS SPIRIT in me - and resurrect my life to show just how great He is. No one can save me or take away anything that I have ever done - but God can - and He does, every day. Because He is great - and He won't allow anyone to forget that.
If that perfect and holy and great God wants to rid me of my sins and make me clean so that I can be apart of something so much greater than myself - why wouldn't I let Him?
The One who made the blind to see
Is moving here in front of me, moving here in front of me
The One who made the deaf to hear
Is silencing my every fear, silencing my every fear
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
The One who does impossible is
Reaching out to make me whole
Reaching out to make me whole
The One who put death in its place
His life is flowing through my veins
His life is flowing through my veins
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
The God who was and is to come
The power of the Risen One
The God who brings the dead to life
You're the God of miracles!
You're the God of miracles!
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
I know that. I know it’s true.
You are the same yesterday, today and forever.
The God who was and is to come
The power of the Risen One
The God who brings the dead to life
You're the God of miracles!
You're the God of miracles!
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
I believe in You, I believe in You
You're the God of miracles
Miracles - Jesus Culture
