Do you have any dead bones lying around in your life? 

Perhaps you have dreams that are dead in the water ... or hopes that have been senselessly harnessed ... or desires that are now moldy and dusty.

What has expired in the recesses of your heart?

We all have plans and dreams that have gone awry and opportunities that have dried up with the passing of time. There are failures and disappointments that seem to define every waking hour of every quickly passing day.

Look around you. What do you see? Do you see a valley filled with the dry bones of unmet goals and finish lines that you have never crossed?

Do you believe that your particular mountain of dry bones is able to come back to life again? Do you believe?

The prophet Ezekiel was faced with such a problem; God took Ezekiel to the valley that was filled with dry, brittle bones. There was absolutely no life left in these bones! These bones were dead-dead bones.

God told Ezekiel to look at the mountain of dry bones and to prophesy over them.

"Again He said to me, 'Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you so that you live. And I will lay sinews upon you and will grow back flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you so that you live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 37:4-6, MEV).

When Ezekiel obeyed the Lord and spoke words of life over the dead-dead bones, do you know what happened next?

The bones began to rattle! What? The deceased bones began to show signs of life!

As the bones rattled with the possibility of new life and purpose, they began to grow back together and then sinews grew on them! A miracle was taking place before Ezekiel's very eyes! Flesh then became evident and skin began to cover the once dead bones.

How did this happen? It happened because Ezekiel spoke the Word of the Lord over the cold and lifeless bones! It happened because an ordinary man spoke the extraordinary words of His Maker.

But there was still no breath in these new bodies that were once dead. These bones that were once extinct and cadaverous now had now become like mannequins in the desert sun.

God spoke again to this incredulous prophet, Ezekiel, and declared, "Then He said to me, 'Prophesy to the wind; prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain so that they live.'" (Ezek. 37:9, MEV).

Ezekiel once again obeyed the Lord and the breath of life came into these once dead-dead bones. A mighty army rose in the midst of this valley that just minutes ago only housed dried up carcasses and petrified pieces of bones.

The Word of the Lord, an obedient child and the wind of the Holy Spirit will always conspire together for a miraculous ending.

It's time for your dreams to come out of the grave of disappointment and failure! Today is the day to speak the word of the Lord over the dreams of your youth and the hope of yesterday.

I hear some bones that are rattling. Do you hear it?

All of the dead places of your life have the potential to become a mighty, roaring and valiant army when you obey the Lord and speak life over that which is deceased and wasted.

Rather than being paralyzed by dead dreams and defunct hope, start speaking the Word of the Lord over the dead bones of your life.

"Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves. And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live" (Ezekiel 37:13 & 14a, MEV).

It's time for the dreams of your life that have been the casualties of failure and disappointment to rise up like an energized and lively fighting machine. The dead bones of your past are the vibrant and victorious strategy for the Spirit of God to inhabit.

I hear some rattling bones that are shaking off death and receiving the life of the Holy Spirit. Are they your bones?

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books, including No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, was released last August. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman's Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol's "A Jolt of Joy" program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at justjoyministries.com.

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