The Staggering Question
He said to me, ’Son of man, can these
bones live?’ —Ezekiel 37:3
Can a sinner be turned into a saint?
Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord
God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3).
Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just
a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be
done.”
It is much easier to do something than to trust
in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we
see so few fellow workers with
God, yet so many people working for
God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe
that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for
others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own
personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that
I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual
work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is
equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.
“Behold, O My people, I will open your
graves . . .” (Ezekiel 37:12).
When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of
God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God
(and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know
that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be
without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18).
God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like
apart from His grace.
(Taken from Oswald Chambers – “My Utmost
for His Highest” June 1)