Can these bones live?

I've been thinking recently about a dead, broken tree in our garden.  We have this tree on the edge of our garden at the rivers edge that Calum believed to be dead. Half of the tree broke off a few years ago and lies in the river, too heavy to be carried off when the river is high. The other half is still upright, as high as the rest of the trees in the garden. Except this tree is bare, dry, cracked and well, broken. All of the surrounding trees showed evidence of life, they were green, full and thriving.  Every time we were working at that corner of the garden Calum would look up at it and say 'that tree is dead, it's finished'. All was confirmed one day when he showed it to my mum and she said 'oh absolutely, that tree is dead'! After that, every time he looked at the tree he told me that he was going to cut it down with his chain saw the first chance he got. We even realised that sitting in bed drinking coffee during our lockdown lazy mornings, you could actually see the top half of this dead tree from our bedroom window. He would sit there sipping his coffee and tell me how that tree was going! However I wasn't so sure. I was convinced I could remember it last year growing leaves and kept saying to hold off just to be sure it really was dead. He'd laugh and say I'm telling you, it's dead! One morning over a week ago I noticed some leaves at the very top out most branch. Over the next couple of days you could see more and more leaves shoot out of new branches that had grown. I said to Calum 'look, the dead tree lives!' he laughed, amazed and said so it does! Would you believe it!

Since then I keep thinking of the chapter in the Bible In Ezekiel when God causes the valley of dead bones to live. What an incredible scene that must have been to witness a body being knit together from those dead bones and then life being breathed into them. It's reminded me of what a hope we have in God. How many people, circumstances or even churches  do I just disregarded because I believe them to be hopeless, broken, lost or 'dead'! When someone I know seems broken and lost and I have prayed for them for a long time, yet shows no sign of my prayers being answered. Part of me feels like writing them off, blocking them out and cutting them down because they are just 'dead' and too far gone. When circumstances overwhelm me and I think it's always going to be like this and I am always going to feel like this, I may just as well accept that it is never going to change. There won't ever be anything of worth come from this circumstance. When I plead with God to save souls, people that I come in contact with that are so lost and God is their only answer.  Yet week after week, month after month and year after year nothing changes and I begin to think, I should just write them off, they are never going to show any signs of new life, give up, move on. How often have I gone to bed at night and thought, that's another day I've failed God. What's the point in even trying again tomorrow? I don't seem to show any signs of life in my Christian walk. How many times I get bogged down and overwhelmed when all I see is no sign of life? Yet In Ezekiel God asks, Can these bones live again? What must that have looked like, a valley filled with dry dead bones brought back to a living soul? Israel felt the same as I sometimes do, overwhelmed, people written off as lost causes, circumstances too far gone, forgotten by God. Yet God in His loving kindness was showing Ezekiel that nothing is too far gone for Him. Nothing and no one is ever too dead for God to bring forth life. He doesn't ever forget about anyone. No person is too far gone, no situation too lost. Praise God. When I feel that everything around me seems dead I need to fix my eyes on God and remember that he can bring life to any situation. Although I can't see the bigger picture, I don't know his purpose and his time frame, I have only to trust Him. As I write this the garden is full of life. Every corner you look there is another evidence of life growing somewhere. I wait expectantly before God for evidence of life in the people and situations I pray for, knowing that nothing is too dead for Him. As for the tree, well Calum now sits and looks at it and exclaims, 'I can't believe that tree isn't dead'! 😀 I'm longing to look at people and at situations and circumstances and exclaim with a heart full of joy 'wow, I can't believe God did that!' Not because of unbelief, but with a heart of thankfullness and amazement at God's grace and mercy.