What I Needed To Hear
I remember growing and experiencing a rough season of struggle in my family. As a younger teen, I was distraught and didn't know what to do with the uncertainty and unnamed emotions I was feeling. I grew up in a portion of the Church and in society that deemed that "boys don't cry" and was told constantly that I just needed to get over it and get back to work.
However, as much as I wanted to bury what I was feeling and experiencing, it kept coming to the surface. It wasn't until years later that I realized I heard people around telling me what I needed to hear in that season, but I didn't incline my ear to listen.
First, I was approached by people who simply sat with me. They didn't try to solve my issues or fix my family. They just picked me up, took me to Taco Bell after church groups, and invited me to watch movies and play games. Their presence was all I needed in that season. Just simply knowing that I wasn't alone was what I needed to know and their silence of being with me was the loudest thing I needed to hear.
Secondly, and much later in my teen years, I was told by counselors and pastors that it was okay to feel what I was feeling. They normalized what I was experiencing and helped me recognize that it was human to have these emotions. What a great feeling to be allowed to be human...
Thirdly, although they normalized these feelings they directed me toward the truth. It was okay to feel these things, but it was not okay to allow these emotions to dictate how I lived and what I thought about myself and others. It was a gentle, yet assertive reminder of something that felt so far away: the truth.
Fourthly, I received something that I needed to hear from these friends: a vision for the other side. They didn't simply say "it's gonna be okay", they provided dreams for me when I felt like I couldn't dream. They stayed hopeful when I couldn't hope. They breathed life into my dry bones and because of this, I felt something rising in me.
I can't help but see the overlap of what we need to hear in this season. In the midst of uncertainty in the world over the pandemic known as COVID-19, I know many are struggling with fear, with doubt, worry, anxiety, and many other concerns. I'm aware that folks are feeling the weight of "what if's" and are beginning to lose hope for what good is on the other side if there is another side... I'm recognizing that people are burying emotions in food, drugs, alcohol, porn, Netflix, and disengaging from reality altogether with whatever numbing practices.
Friends, we are in a time in which people want to move forward but don't know what they want to move forward towards. We are in a season in which folks are don't know to do with their present and running or freezing altogether. We are in a moment in history in which we need to hear something, and I believe the Lord has a word for us.
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 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.’”
This is a prophetic word given from the prophet/priest, Ezekiel to the people of God in the midst of their exile. It was a promise that although they felt hopeless and lifeless, the Lord had breath and life for them and He would give to them by entering into their graves and bringing them out of the grave and breathing life into their lungs. It was hope for a temporary return to their home, and an eternal promise in the Messiah who would give us a forever home in Himself.
If you look closely at this prophetic promise and the four things I mentioned earlier, the Word of the Lord is confirmed, proven, and trustworthy.
First, Ezekiel is a priest and prophet. He has no business being around dead things. It would make him unclean. Not only this, but the Lord was completely holy and was not found around dead things in the Old Testament. However, in this text, we see the Lord in the midst of the bones with humanity restoring them by entering into the dark places of death to bring life.
In other words, the Lord is with us. This is His name: Immanuel (GOD WITH US). This is the promise of Ezekiel, that we would forever be in a city named Yahweh Shammah, or the LORD is there. You are not alone. God is with you. He's present, He's able, and He's ready to talk. He may not be in the fire, wind, thunder, or earthquake. But maybe in the silence of His presence, He's inviting you into an awakening that He's been with you all along.
One practical point for this: ask the Lord to show you how He's been with you in this season and then wait to hear what He's speaking or see what He's showing you.
Secondly, the Lord knew what Israel was feeling. He knew they felt hopeless, dry, and cut off. He knew they felt like dry bones in a valley of death. In short, God normalized their feelings. In acknowledging their status, the Lord told them that He was God and they were human, and that's how it's supposed to be. This is not to say that God doesn't feel. It is to say that God's character does not change because of feelings.
We were not created to become the Creator. We were not made to usurp the Lord. We belong to Him and part of that belonging is in our BEING. In other words, sometimes our feelings are reminders that we are changing but God remains the same.
In this manner, I'd encourage you to take some time and sit with your feelings. Write them down. Don't rush past them. Allow the Lord to speak to you about them. It's okay to feel what you're feeling. Be with Jesus and let Him remind you that He is King and that He's got you no matter what you're feeling.
Thirdly, although the Lord normalized what Israel was feeling and even gave this prophetic word that depicted their emotions, it was to bring them out of the pit of despair they felt. A Good Father affirms emotion AND invites His children out of their grave by a Word.
It just so happens that the Word spoken was Jesus and He entered into our graves on our behalf to bring us into true, abundant, and eternal life. The Truth came in flesh to lead us out of the lies of a false self and sinful death. Christ Jesus breathed out new life and hope over His disciples. And now, whoever calls upon His name can receive this same breath and newness of life and truth. And we know, that the truth sets us free and whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Take a moment to sit with the Lord and ask Him what you need to hear. What are you feeling and what is the truth? What lies can you exhale and what truth can you inhale? How is He leading you out of the grave and into hope, freedom, and life?
Lastly, the Lord didn't just put a band-aid on the situation. He didn't just tell them what they wanted to hear, He told them what they NEEDED to hear. He didn't say, "It's gonna be okay..." He eternally prophesied through Ezekiel the plan of a forever-redemption in Jesus. And, He didn't just speak about it, HE FINISHED IT.
He cast a vision of dry bones coming together by His Word. He revealed a plan of taking dead things out of graves and breathing life into them by His Spirit. The Lord gave a roadmap for restoration and proved the way forward is trustworthy because of Christ Jesus.
I'm not here to tell you something you want to hear. I'm not here to say, "It's gonna be okay..." I'm here to tell you that COVID-19 is not the Lord and is not the final word. I'm here to say that quarantine is not the last phrase. I'm here to remind us that sickness, pain, and even death, are not the final answer.
Jesus is the Word and the final Word. His vision for us is eternal, abundant, and true life. His strategy is to take dead things and make them alive. His agenda is to take sick things and make them endlessly healthy. His cross proves it. His blood seals it. His resurrection is our reason to stand in a new life with hope and breath filling our lungs again.
I'd propose spending some time with the Lord and asking what His vision is for you, for your context, and for this world. What is your plan, Lord? What is your final Word? What's on the other side of this and how can I align myself with Your will?
Beloved, what I need to hear, and what I believe we all need to hear is this:
The Lord is with us and we are not alone,
It's okay to feel what you're feeling AND it's not the final word,
Feel what you feel and submit it to the truth. The Truth will set you free, and
God has a vision for us all and He's made a way for that plan to become reality through Jesus.
My favorite thing about all of this is that what I experienced through my friends and mentors was only a glimpse of the limitlessness of our Savior. He is able to do immeasurably more than we can imagine and I'm ready to see it. Until then, let's press into the One who is with us and live from His truth. It's more than likely what we need to hear and it's really good. Amen.
