I shared with a friend recently about a time in my life when I had lost all hope. My dreams were over, my future was shot and anything that was important to me seemed to be leaving my life. It was a dangerous place to be. With no hope and dead dreams, my mind began to devise plans that were no good and would put me in prison the rest of my life. I remember thinking, “What does it matter if I go to prison? I have nothing to live for outside of it.” Fortunately God broke through in that time. He sent word to me from someone I didn’t know. He said, “What looks like an end is really a beginning. You are not alone. I’m with you. Where I am taking you, you will experience more joy than you’ve ever known.” In that moment, hope returned and my future was revived.
In Ezekiel 37, Israel had been captives in Babylon for a long time. They had given up hope of returning to their homeland. Their future seemed dead as they looked at their current situation. That’s when God took Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones. God asked him if the bones could live again. I’m sure in his mind, he was thinking there was no way, but he responded that only God knows. God had him prophesy and speak life into these dry bones that represented Israel’s future. Suddenly the bones started rattling and coming together. Sinew and muscles wrapped around the bones and then flesh. An entire army of people stood before him that came to life when he spoke to the four winds to breathe into them. Then in verse 11 God said, “Mortal man, the people of Israel are like these bones. They say that they are dried up, without any hope and with no future” (GNT). He then revived their future by promising to take them out of captivity and back home.
Lamentations 3:21-26 says, “Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope. The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him, So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for him to save us.” If you’re feeling hopeless today, hope can and will return when you remember that God sees you and will move on your behalf. Your future is in His hands, not yours or anyone else’s. He take ends and makes beginnings. He make rivers in the desert. Begin speaking to your dry bones and ask God to bring your future back to life. Dreams you thought were dead can live again. A hopeless future can be full of life again. You may not think it now, but God knows it. Wait with patience and trust in Him, then the future He has for you will revive.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 