Ezekiel 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.’”
There is nothing quite like an isolating season brought on by a global pandemic, am I right? Unprecedented. Unreal. Unexpected. Just wow. How do we breathe at such a time as this; or while gasping for air in a similar season of hardship?
My answer came in a random text message, believe it or not. I’m so blessed by a spirit led friend. She’s always dropping encouraging notes on me at the most appropriate time. Hello, God.
I’ve experienced some extremely difficult days with this latest stressor of isolation. After twelve months of battling every negative emotion and life circumstance, COVID-19 just about knocked me over. Like the straw that broke this deserted camel’s back.
These are some of the words I texted to her in response to a message she sent me.
“Thank you. I am really struggling with feeling like a failure.” I found myself in a season of questioning my purpose and my sanity. Throwing in the towel on everything God is calling me to do crossed my mind every day during recent months.
Linda replied, “Oh my goodness! That is a lie from the pit of hell. Look at what God has been doing in your life.”
“I know, I know. I just don’t feel good. Menopause. Stress. Faltering in my health and wellness. And now more isolation. Ugh, but I know.” I know, I responded.
Linda reminded me to sing praises. Yes, yes, I can sing praises even in this desert season.
A few hours later she dropped on me some scripture and my new anthem song.
This song breathed new breath into my weak self. The chorus lyrics, “Get up, get up,” grabbed my heart. Get up. Get up. A command to act. Would I act and take a step of faith with courage and strength?
How could I not? I immediately turned to Ezekiel 37. God impressed on me the reason He kept bringing me back over and over again to the lessons in Ezekiel about the dry bones.
“Yes, Lord. Yes. I feel like a bag of dry bones,” I lamented over and over. And I asked, “Why, God? Why is this season so difficult right now after the years of joyful and abundant living?”
You see, the skipping along in my joyful journey came to an abrupt halt this time last year. As I rode a real high of finally feeling healthy and energized (after fifty years of living obese and chronically exhausted), I crashed hard emotionally when life got tough.
Before the abruption, I stepped eagerly into this calling of writing and speaking. And then, I was suddenly dealing with the unprecedented. The unreal. The unexpected. Just wow. I found myself stranded in a desert, extremely isolated before isolation even became a thing for the rest of you.
But friends, I didn’t shrivel up in this desert season because I continued to drink from the fountain of His Word each and every day through the hard days. He has shared so sweetly with me each day from this living water. I am a bible first girl, in the good times and the bad. And this daily delight of time in His Word sustains me no matter the circumstances I face. Truly, His joy comes in the morning and carries me all day, every day.
He even promises in Ezekiel to rescue us from this dry season. This promise kept my hope alive as I walked through this parched land. He will quench your thirst, too, my friend.
Ezekiel 37:14 “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it,” declares the Lord.
For my friend to send me this special song at such an important time in my journey, I truly have no other words than, “Only God.” It breathed new life into my journey. It was a rescue, a lifeline. And most importantly, a realization of the impactful spiritual lessons learned in this season.
I’ve now experienced what it means to cling to joy through suffering, and my journey is better for it. And I’m overjoyed to be back in the land of the living and the acting. Live. Alive. These dry bones heard the word of the Lord.
Can you hear the word of the Lord speaking over your dry bones? His Spirit is in you, friends. Breathe it in.
I bet you are wondering about the song. Well, I won’t leave you hanging. Here’s a very impromptu recording of me covering it with my friend, Phil. I asked him to learn it one day, and the next day we sat down, went through it once and then pressed record. No mics, no sound techs. Just us. So we appreciate your grace. I just have to sing this song. Over and over again. Really listen to these lyrics. I trust they will inspire you today. The link is at the very bottom of this post.
Friends, do you need to act on the message “get up, get up”? Leave me a comment below your takeaway from this song or Ezekiel 37. I’d love to learn how you are emerging from this unprecedented season.
Every week I’d like to leave with you what I’m singing: Christine’s Prophesy, Sing it Over Dry Bones playlist
Above is my Spotify playlist with of all my favorite dry bones songs. Let me know if you would add any to this list.
Listen the cover of Prophesy by Influence Music here: Christine Trimpe Author & Speaker Page – Prophesy cover version.
Be a Joy Seeker,
Christine xoxo
Just what I needed today! Thank you for sharing truth 🙌 Today I’m sitting in an empty house ( husband travels, almost empty nester and my youngest is on a trip) with hours of free time on my hands but I have no motivation or direction.
Thank you for the encouragement!
getting ready to listen to your song 😁
Hi Cindy,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and leave a comment. Your day sounds delightful. I never get the house to myself. LOL! So, what did you end up doing with your day?
Blessings and Joy,
Christine
So good. I’m thankful you didn’t give up. You have much to say to encourage others. I couldn’t access the song you sang, but would love to hear it.
Keep writing and declaring His faithfulness! Someone needs to hear your struggle and your steps forward even in the midst of it! ❤️
Thank you so much, Athena, for reading and taking the time to comment. I am so grateful to have someone like you in my tribe, as someone who has gone before us in our writing and speaking journey. By the way, I just started your memoir. Wow, girl! What a journey you have been on. God is so good!
Thanks for all you do for His kingdom. Blessings and JOY <3, Christine xoxo
This season of Covid isolation did not effect me as bad as so many others. I truly feel it is because I was in my Dry Bones dessert long before Covid hit us. I felt like I was in that dessert of dry bones beginning in 2018. I had hit my lowest in my faith of my dreams and goals. I say “my” because they were “my” goals/dreams not Gods. Oh I thought they were God’s but I was wrong. So I found myself with those Dry Bones. Fast forward to my moms passing in 2019. As devastating as that event was it was the beginning of me bringing those Dry Bones back to life. God began opening doors for me. First door he provided financially for me to quit a very stressful job that was slowly killing me physically and spiritually. Second door God opened up was a door to a health insurance that would pay for my much needed Gastric Bypass surgery. And the third door God opened up for me was the successful surgery itself with a much easier recovery than I ever dreamed of. So when Covid entered the picture I was already in a place where I welcomed the respite of life, to take a time to just be still and focus on God’s will for the rest of my life.
Hi Teresa,
I’m so sorry about your dry bones season, but I’m so excited about your journey right now! I’ll be excited to hear all about how God is working through it all.
Blessings and Joy,
Christine