Ezekiel 37:5 — This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!

The church had shrunk so small they started wondering whether it ought to keep going.

It had not always been that way.

There had been a time when the parking lot filled up on Sunday morning, children ran through the hallways, and somebody was always making coffee somewhere. But years have a way of changing things. People moved away. Some got older. Some stopped coming. A few left hurt. Before long, the church had become a handful of faithful folks trying to keep the doors open.

Then one day, somebody came and repossessed the copier.

That may not sound like much, but if you have ever been part of a small church, you know better. A church without a copier is getting pretty close to the end of the road.

They simply couldn’t afford it—or much of anything else anymore.

It felt like a sign that the once-vibrant house of worship should start preparing for its own funeral.

Only God wasn’t finished.

So the people started praying. I mean, really praying.

People who hadn’t been around in years came back. A new pastor arrived. The little congregation began looking outside itself again, serving their neighbors and giving to missions. They stopped asking how to keep the church alive and started asking what they could do with the life they still had.

And little by little, something changed.

That dying church found itself welcoming hundreds of people through its doors. The parking lot filled again. The smell of coffee filled the air. And, more importantly, hungry hearts were beginning to taste the goodness of God there like never before.

That story makes me think of Ezekiel standing in that valley.

God showed him a place covered with bones. Not fresh bones, either. Dry bones. Bones that had been there long enough to make the situation seem completely hopeless.

Then God said, “I am going to put breath into you and make you live again.”

God was showing Ezekiel that what looked completely hopeless to His people was not beyond His power to restore. The dry bones were a picture of Israel, a people who felt like all hope was gone. But God had not forgotten them.

And maybe you need that reminder today.

You may be looking at something you have already buried in your heart—a relationship, a dream, a calling, a church, or even a part of yourself. Maybe it really is beyond what you can repair. But that doesn’t mean it is beyond God.

God may not restore every situation in exactly the way we hope or expect. But nothing is beyond His power, and no situation is beyond His ability to bring purpose, hope, and new life.

Friend, it may feel finished, but God hasn’t forgotten you.

What looks like a grave to us can still become a garden.

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A MOMENT TO REFLECT

• What situation in your life feels hopeless or “too far gone” right now? Have you brought it honestly to God?
• Where have you been tempted to decide that something is finished before God has finished His work?
• What would it look like to stop asking, “How do I keep this alive?” and instead ask, “God, what do You want me to do with the life You’ve given me?”
• How does Ezekiel 37 remind you that God’s power is greater than what you can see or understand right now?
• Where might God be inviting you to pray, serve, or take a step of faith even before you see the outcome?

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L Y R I C S

I searched the world
But it couldn’t fill me
Man’s empty praise
and treasures that fade
Are never enough

Then You came along
And put me back together
And every desire is now satisfied
Here in Your love

Oh there’s nothing better than You
There’s nothing better than You
Lord there’s nothing, nothing is better
than You

I’m not afraid
To show You my weakness
My failures and flaws
Lord You’ve seen them all
And You still call me friend

‘Cause the God of the mountain
Is the God of the valley
There’s not a place
Your mercy and grace
Won’t find me again

You turn mourning to dancing
You give beauty for ashes
You turn shame into glory
You’re the only one who can

You turn graves into gardens
You turn bones into armies
You turn seas into highways
You’re the only one who can
You’re the only one who can

Written by Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, Tiffany Hammer, Brandon Lake