Bad Breath Made Beautiful

S

(Ezekiel 37:11) 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 clean cut off.' "

O

The Holy Spirit had just shown Ezekiel a dramatic, bizarre visualization of the nation's hopelessness: a valley full of dry, human bones. That pile represented a nation of mortally wounded people. God's answer was for His servant to prophecy God's Word over their hopelessness and lifelessness. That produced the first step: the outward appearance of life but without the life itself. The missing piece, the next step, was the presence and work of God's Spirit.

A (Personal)

It's not enough for me to merely go through the motions of goodness, of mechanically being responsible. It's not an issue of right or wrong, but of fulfillment. Doing good and right is necessary but lifeless without the joy of God's presence, without the delights of living in the fullness of intimacy and loving union with Him. Good deeds may look identical to casual observers, but the condition of one's heart makes all the difference: to be filled with God's Spirit is to be filled with God's love, joy, and peace.

A (Psychological)

Psychology can help with the assembling of bones, sinews, skin, and muscles (figuratively speaking). It can help heal thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It can create an appearance of spiritual life or life-like robotic routines, which is a vast improvement for most people; but it, by itself, cannot create spiritual life. My experience, and more importantly, the revelation of God's Word is that the unique dimension of salvation through Jesus Christ is wholly different from any other experience of life (John 1:4; 5:24,40; 8:12; 11:25; 14:1-6; 1 John 5:20). Interestingly, once people receive new life in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit sets immediately to work to heal people's psychological problems... and He does this through interactions with people. Interesting.

P

Lord, let me hear joy and gladness; let my bones rejoice because of the forgiving, healing, strengthening works of Your Holy Spirit. Create within me a clean heart and renew within me a right and a steadfast spirit. Don't cast me away from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me, but restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit (from Psalm 51:8-12). May my breath emit Your life.