Winded Christians
Today’s Verse:
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. ~Ezekiel 37:9
Several weeks ago, I was returning from preaching a revival conference. I needed to make a connecting flight in Dallas, TX. I got into the terminal at 5:40 p.m., and needed to make it to another terminal that was at least 15-20 minutes away. My connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 6:00 p.m. I ran from the arrival terminal to the departure terminal with a suit bag in one hand and a roller suitcase in the other. I made it to the connecting terminal with five minutes to spare, but I was quite winded. To be winded means to be out of breath from a lot of running. When you are winded, your strength is diminished. When you are winded, you have expended all of your energy. When you are winded, you don’t have much more to give! This morning, let us examine what to do when we become winded Christians.
We see a grievous picture.
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.” Ezekiel was shown a valley filed with the dried up bones and remains of soldiers killed in battle. These dead bones were once men who were living and had a purpose. They had died in battle and were left to decay and rot. What a picture of believers who become spiritual casualties in the spiritual war. They fight the enemy in their own power, only to be defeated and left to languish and dry up. Anytime we try to fight the battles of life in our power, we are destined to become like this valley of dry old bones.
We see a gracious promise.
“Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.” God promised to give these “winded” dry old bones life again. God said he would give them breath once again. We will get winded trying to live victoriously for the Lord. We must be conscious of the fact that we must be in a continuous state of revival. God was promising revival of life to these old bones. He said they would live again. He said they would get back their life. Revival is getting back your life. It is when things that have died have come back to life.
We see a godly preacher.
“So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.” God called Ezekiel to prophesy or preach to these dry dead old bones. He must have been the only preacher to preach to a cemetery of dead bones! Sometimes as preachers, we feel like we are preaching to the dead. However, he did as God told him to do and there was first a noise, then a shaking, and the bones came together! Bone upon bone was attaching itself, and the shape of a man was coming together. When revival comes, our broken life needs to come together one piece at a time. Then, sinew and flesh came on these bones! Preaching can bring a life together again! However, there was still no breath in them!
We see a glorious power.
“Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” God gave each body breath and life! They became living souls once again! The wind from heaven gave wind back to these once dead bodies. God’s power is indispensable for spiritual power and ability.
We need the wind of heaven, or the Holy Spirit to breathe life in our dry dead old bones. Are you winded? Let God give you back the wind that you need!
Have a Spirit-breathed God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Luke 4-5