Chosen Grace

Hi y’all! I hope that April is going smoothly for everyone! I pray that this month of spring is full of rejuvenation for you! Happy reading!

We just celebrated Easter yesterday. While many call it Easter, I love calling it “Ressurection Sunday” because it’s all about the empty grave!

And while Easter is a joyous holiday where we celebrate the risen King, a lot of people see it as a time to truly embrace the coming of the spring season. This means embracing the warmer weather, wearing short-sleeved tops, and basking in the sunlight.

And while these things are a plus as spring shifts into full gear, there are some hard things about this season: rainy weather, pollen, and the uncertain temperature fluxations can drive one mad.

However, none of these things about spring have impacted me as much as my walk with Christ has lately. For me, this season has been one of digging deep.

What I mean is- God has been stretching me. He’s been requiring that I go deeper with Him. And to be honest with you all, this has truly been a hard process for me. And I can’t lie- it’s been quite uncomfortable.

I say that because God is not only requiring me to go deeper with Him, but He’s requiring that I dig up some things I had buried. This process is tough because it’s making me truly delve into my fears, my hurts, and my doubts. Basically, I’m confronting things that I don’t want to. And who wants to seriously think about things that make them unsettled- I don’t!

Despite this, I knew that there was a reason God had led me to this place of digging deep. I quickly reminded myself that if God would lead me to this place, then He would guide me through this process. So, I decided to surrender to His will.

As I began to partner with God on this new path we’re taking together, God led me to this scripture found in Ezekiel:

“ The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?””

Ezekiel 37:1-3, NIV

I know that many Bible readers are familiar with this passage, as I personally have read it and heard it preached many times. But this time, reading it had an entirely different meaning.

You see, Ezekial was led to a valley that seemed to be empty. He was led to a place that had no life. The place was simply desolate and unfulfilling at first glance.

God began to show me that this was how I viewed my own life. To be completely real with y’all- I saw the things God was trying to get me to work on in my life. But I didn’t see them as alive or as fruitful. I saw them as dead, dry, crusty bones. And these bones were something that I did NOT want to pick up or even acknowledge.

And maybe some of you are like me. God may be asking you to deal with a situation that hurt you. He may be asking you to love your neighbor who talked smack to you. Or he may ask you to be just a little more patient where it feels like you’re about to blow up.

Whatever the case, just know that there are times when God will require you to truly look yourself in the mirror, and like Ezekiel, He’ll ask you what you see. Moments like these can be tough because it is then that you are confronted with whatever it is that’s been a thorn in your side.

To be real with you all, when God first gave me the instructions to go deep- I felt like the world was about to end. This is honestly because I felt like all things were good. But God is Our Father, and He knows much more than we do concerning ourselves. So when I was confronted with my bones, I didn’t feel warm and fuzzy- I felt cold and rough. More importantly, I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to cope with what I was actually having to face.

And so I prayed about it. Soon, God began to speak to me about what He intended to do with the bones in my life:

“Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’””

Ezekiel 37:4-6, NIV

Now, these verses are powerful, but let me tell you why.

You see, God didn’t just give Ezekiel idle words to say. No- He gave Ezekiel life to speak! This means that God worked in Ezekiel’s situation and literally turned something dead into something alive and well.

I’ll say it like this: what seemed to be dead or unfruitful was literally the opposite. All it took for Ezekiel to speak truth and life into the situation.

And I don’t know about you, but that certainly touched my soul!

This is because in my own life as I dig deep with God, He has constantly reminds me that I’m not alone in the process. He is with me and for me as I confront things and work on healing some aspects of myself.

And I want to encourage you reading that this is the same for you! God will work with you where you are, even if it doesn’t feel or look good. He’ll take those dry bones and make them live.

God loves us too much to just bring us to a place where He does not intend to work on our behalf. All we have to do is trust Him.

This post was short, but I really wanted to be authentic and transparent with you all. And I hope that you found joy in this post, because I certainly did.

My walk with God right now is not easy. It is challenging me every step of the way, but I smile knowing that my Father is right there with me, guiding me as I lean and depend on Him. I know that He cares about every little thing, even the hairs on my head.

I choose to dig deep with God because I know that like Ezekiel, He’ll allow my dead bones to live. It’s for my good, and for His glory!

With a new love for digging deep,

Malaysia 🙂

P.S: My best friend told me this once: God will not lead you to a place where He cannot provide for you in. Allow that to minister to your spirit. It’s certainly ministering to mine.