Are There Dry Bones in Your Family?
By Moe and Paige Becnel

One of the most intriguing passages to me in the Old Testament is found in Ezekiel Chapter 37.  It is when the prophet Ezekiel has a spiritual encounter with God, and God takes him to a valley of dead, dry bones.
In verse 3 God asks Ezekiel, “Can these (dead) bones live?”

I love Ezekiel’s answer, “I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
Ezekiel did not try to figure it out in man’s thinking – “well not likely”, or “no way”, or “maybe if it snows in Miami in July”. 
Ezekiel was open to the knowledge that God could do anything He wants.  Ezekiel knew that God is all knowing and all powerful.

Verses 4-6 continues, “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.' "

In the natural realm, dry bones represent death --- no future, no purpose, no hope, and no help available.
Only a move by the Spirit of the Living God can bring dead things back to life.

Does it Happen Today?
Over the 20+ years that Paige and I have been working in ministry, we have seen so many people literally changed by the Spirit of God – changed in body, mind, and spirit. 
They began to believe God’s Word as truth.  Their thought processes changed.  Their attitudes changed.  Then their heart changed.
Their soul came to life --- they met their creator --- He touched their life in a supernatural way --- He met one or more impossible needs in their life --- and they found what they were created for.

Yes, God’s BREATH is still at work in people’s lives today.

It Happened to Our Blended Family
God has done many amazing things in my life in the last 28 years since I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord.  Very many times I have experienced:

But of all of these, God has showed up so profoundly in the Blending of our family.
Just as in the “creation story” in Genesis where God spent 4 days separating things – preparing for the creation of life on days 5 and 6, God had to first take time to “separate” some things in Paige and I that were hindering His ability to create LIFE in our Blended Family.
Once Paige and I cooperated with God, He truly did BREATHE His Breath of Life into our family.
I can look back and see the VALLEY OF DRY BONES that existed in our family in the early 1990’s, and now see the LIFE that exists today.

Proverbs 1:1-3 has come true in our life and family:
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

What About Your Family
Are there areas of “dry bones” in your marriage and family today?  Define them, and write them down.

Do you need God’s Wisdom to know the “separating” that needs to take place in you and your spouse in order to begin the creation process? Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you those areas – asking Him what YOU can do to begin the separating process.

We have a part to play in God’s creation plan ---
The separating is your part – the creation of new life is God’s part!

(Our book – God Breathes on Blended Families – tells of the separating we went through, and of God’s Hand and Breath on the Becnel family.)

God does not have “favorite” children.  He will do in your family what He did in the Becnel family.  Yes your family is different from ours.  Your children’s ages and personalities are different from ours.  Your circumstances are also different. 

But God’s Principles for Blended Families are the same for all families.
Once you understand the Principles, the Holy Spirit (in your prayer time) will show you how to apply the Principles to your family.

A valley of dry bones is NOT an obstacle to God.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

If God can resurrect us from our life of sin and make us completely new, He surely is able to resurrect life into your new family – and make it whole.
Believe that, and don’t give up!

Families are BUILT – one relationship at a time!

“Used with permission by Blending A Family Ministry. Copyright (c) 2009 Blending A Family Ministry. www.blendingafamily.com . All rights reserved.”