Sowing in Tears

As most of you know, we made it to Washington.  We are settled into the beauty that is Bellingham and the community there within.  We came to serve a man who stirred our spirits and a God who has captivated us.  We came to love a people who seemed like unmet relatives of our tribe.  We came to learn to be the people we discovered within ourselves at G42.  My heart was ready, excited to put to practice the words so boldly spoken in past posts…words spoken over my heart in those 6 months.  I was ready to conquer.  I was just unprepared for an unknown opponent. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone has dry bones in their life.  Dry bones crying out from the depths of our souls–crying out to be brought to life, to be resurrected.  Bones representing loss.  Bones representing pain.  Bones representing our lost hope.  We all have a valley of dry bones.  At first, hope is simply deferred and the heart becomes sick.¹  Then sorrow of the heart (worldly grief)² crushes the spirit.³  And with a crushed spirit, our bones dry up.⁴

In Ezekiel 37, there is an interesting passage about the valley of dry bones.  God is having a conversation with Ezekiel concerning the House of Israel (the Church–aka us!).  The conversation (in my elaborate paraphrasing) went something like this…

Ezekiel, my son, can these dry bones– the hopeless, painful places in you, in my Church– live?  -God

Only you know Father.  Will you show me?  -Ezekiel

Son, speak life into these bones–speak this and they will come alive: Dark, desolate places, you hear the word of a God who loves you.  I will breathe my spirit of life into you and you will live.  You will know my love and my light and you will come to life.  My hope will come upon you again. -God

Ok, Father I’ll obey. Ok, the bones came together.  I see great change but the bones aren’t alive, I don’t feel the hope or the life.  You said they will live so what do I do now?  -Ezekiel

Prophesy again son.  Speak life again.  Use the power of life coursing through your veins.  Say this: Come from all corners of the earth.  Spirit of life come into these bones!  Where hope has been lost, I command them by the power and love of God to live! -God⁵

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.  Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.  Behold they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’  Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people.  And I will bring you into the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”⁶

So the question becomes for us all…Where has hope been deferred?  Where has sorrow crushed your spirit?  Where are your dry bones?  Dry bones could be: skewed masculinity/femininity; fear of failure, abandonment, rejection; unforgiveness; bitterness/offense; addiction; abuse/neglect…anything leading to a deadening and hardening of your heart…anything leading to lost hope.  So think.  What are your dry bones?

Stay there for a moment.  Sit in the crucible of the past for a moment. Visualize the dry bones.

When the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  The Spirit of God hovered.⁷ He hovered over the places which were dark, chaotic, and empty.  He structured the chaos.  He filled the emptiness. He brought the light.  The valley of dry bones is dark, chaotic, and empty.  Hover over the valley, over the dry bones. Look straight at the bones, embrace them, and let the God of all hope overcome them.

Just as God asked Ezekiel: “Can these bones live?”  God is asking us…can the dead places of our hearts be awakened and restored?  Can hope flood our hearts again?  Can our spirits be revitalized?  Can our bones be called to life?

As a daughter of man, my flesh knows of pain, loss, and hope deferred.  My heart has held sorrow.  My spirit crushed.  My bones dry.

As a daughter of God, my heart knows redemption.  My spirit knows restoration.  My soul knows that all which has been lost will be restored.

Often my first reaction to the dry bones in my life is: “I’m willing but I have no idea how.  How do I get these dead places, these places of pain and sorrow to live again?”  or “Abba, I’ve tried but it hasn’t happened.  I’ve seen growth, but where is the life, the restoration of hope?”  The beauty of this passage is that God does not simply do it for us.  He does not swoop in like a mother on a hurt child.  He lovingly, but in a fathering spirit says: “Get up, Jen.  If you want to be alive, if you want your hopes and dreams to awaken, you have a role to play.  I have put my power within you and it is up to you to use it.  I will help.  I will guide.  But daughter you are strong enough, bold enough, equipped enough to call dead things to life.  No more self-pity.  No more false humility.  Get up.  Let’s open the graves, let’s make dry bones live!”

May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.⁸

God will fill us will all hope, joy, and peace.  However, He has placed the power of the Holy Spirit within us to ABOUND in hope.  We must hover over the chaotic places in our hearts and call them to life.  He will guide, He will place people in our lives to strengthen us and enable us, but He does expect us to act.  You have been given the ability to command life.  Silence paralyzes but speaking brings life.  So speak.  Get up and command life into the dry bones in your life.  And watch God work a miracle through the words you speak.  Something imparted to us at G42 that we are often called upon to recite and believe:

He is the Word.  I am the Voice.  I’ve got something to say and I am going to say it!

Every kingdom divided against itself is laid to waste, and a divided household falls.  And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?¹

Over a year and a half ago, I was sitting on our pastor’s couch in tears over Satan.  I was so infuriated with the destruction before my eyes and the “strength” of Satan’s grasp on the world that I was paralyzed.  When paralyzed due to anger, it’s difficult to see hope.  It becomes difficult to love the one who I’m told is victorious and holds the world in His hands–an almighty, sovereign God.  Sometimes an illusion can be so real that it paints a picture that becomes your reality.  Satan-strong and powerful-was my reality.  Truth be told, I don’t believe I’m alone here.  A good part of the Church lives here.  It’s what makes heaven so appealing as an escape from this reality.  Why wage war in a losing battle?  Yes the Church often sings “Victory in Jesus” yet His victory is isolated within the coming of Christ.  Until then, we are meant to hold on and stay faithful until we can escape this hell on earth.  Endure and win the prize.  What reality are we inviting others into?

Let me dare paint a different picture of reality.  Satan is divided.  Satan is limited.  Satan is inferior.  In the passage above, it states that Satan’s kingdom is divided!  Why?  I contend it might just be pride.

In Daniel 10, Daniel is mourning before the Lord over His people, beckoning His God’s strength.  After days of waiting on God, a messenger angel (Gabriel) comes to him with a curious reason for his delay–he was in battle with the prince of Persia.  Gabriel set off on the first day of Daniel’s heart cry, yet for 21 days Gabriel was locked up until Michael came to help battle the demon.  After Daniel was strengthened by the angel’s words, Gabriel made a provoking statement: “But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold the prince of Greece will come.” If Satan’s agenda was united, why did the prince of Greece not come to help the prince of Persia against Michael?  The characteristic of Hell and Satan is SELF.  Satan rebelled because he did not accept the identity and role God had given him.  He took 3000 with him in his rebellion and sought to divide the kingdom of God.  But anything with the characteristic of self is surely divided.  And anything divided falls.

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.²

This is a key passage to the reality.  This passage is speaking of the house and people of God.  Satan is a “strong man”, armed and ready to defend his power over the earth, the deed given him by Adam.  Yet when Jesus–one stronger–descended into hell, crushed Satan and overcame him, he took away his armor (panoplia) and divided his spoil.  The impression in this passage is that Jesus took away all of the armor, every weapon, every piece of defense.  In Ephesians 6, it speaks of the whole armor of God given to His children.  Grasp this picture: You have all of the armor.  You have every weapon that ever has been and ever will be.

I know.  I know.  But what about the evidence of “Satan’s reign”?  What of the death and destruction all around us.  Remember, it was admitted there was a “strong man”.  So if every weapon has been taken from Satan, what is he left with?  Words.  That is all Satan has–words!  Think about it…

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your disobedience is complete.³

We are to destroy words!  However, this reality requires action and strength on our part.  It requires the Church to be a warrior bride.  If we stay passive, he has us.  If Satan cannot stop the Church from belief, he will certainly fight to prevent our growth and the gaining of inheritance.  If you grasp nothing else in your spirit from this reality, grasp this: You have nothing to fear. Satan is divided.  Satan is limited.  Satan is inferior.  Satan cannot breed demons.  Satan is not all-knowing.  He cannot be two places at once.  God is united.  God is limitless.  God is superior.  God has conquered hell!  Here is the catch:  they are both looking for human partners.  One out of abuse and the agenda to use for his selfish purposes.  One out of pure love and the agenda to give an inheritance and bring life to this earth.  Which reality will you believe?

Permit me to make one more point.  I’ve often been discouraged by the divided spirit of the Church.  Satan’s words and illusions have swept through the Body of Christ and divided the kingdom.  Let this soak into your spirit…

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.⁴

A kingdom divided falls right?  Speak this to Satan–When we, the Church, fall, we shall arise!  Satan still roams the earth, seeking to bring darkness, right?  Speak this to Satan–When we sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to us.   We have nothing to fear and we have every weapon.  We have the strength to get up and light to see the illusion of Satan’s lies.  Take thoughts captive.  Arise Church and fight. Let’s begin to paint the picture of a victorious, warrior Bride–for that is reality.