The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” Then 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: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel 37: 1-6

Can you remember a time when you felt dry as a bone spiritually? Dead. Lifeless. Yet, God delights in the opportunity to restore and give hope “when our eyes are dry when our hearts are cold.” Just as He promised new breath and life and personal knowledge of the Lord to the many disconnected, dry bones In the valley Ezekiel saw, His desire is to see the same kind of life in us.

Recently Patrina nudged me during a worship service and said, they’re singing your song. “Great is the Lord”, by All Sons and Daughters is rooted in the passage from Ezekiel. Here’s a sample of the lyrics-

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken

Great are You, Lord

It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only

God’s creation of the world and His attention to detail is certainly worthy of praise, but it is the spiritual breath that is the focus of this passage and this song. With a renewed spirit we are in a position to empty ourselves and we pour out praise to the One who gives eternal life.

In the second chapter of Genesis, we learn that when God had formed man, He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

More than the biological process of the air we breathe, our beings are living souls.