“And He said unto me, ‘Prophecy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'” Ezekiel 37:9
Dear Ones:
In the book of Isaiah, the Lord is recorded as saying: “Ask me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the works of My hands, command ye Me.” (45:11) The preceding chapters of this book of Isaiah, leading up to this point, deal with a new beginning for Israel. The Lord goes on, and speaks through the prophet Isaiah, revealing that His way is first the way of thirst, thirsting that He creates in the heart. It is a thirst that goes beyond the physical, to the very eternal. It is, as the psalmist put it, a thirst after God. He writes: “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (Ps. 42:2) Why does the Lord cause such a thirst, and why is its answer in God alone?
The thirst which God gives is born out of a consciousness of need. The greater the consciousness, the greater the turning to God, who alone can meet the need, for there is the realization that no man, nor the resources of men, can meet such a deep “soul need.” That which occurs when the consciousness of need peaks is that there is but one direction in which the soul looks, and it is to God. The expression of that gaze, its expectation and hope, is heard by the cry of the heart. It is a cry that comes from the very depths of the soul and heart. It is a cry that will not be stopped in its efforts to be heard on high, for there is the conviction, that there is NO other answer. In Psalm 107, there are several examples where men, because of their sin, and consciousness of personal need, “…cried unto the Lord.” Some of these men were lost in a wilderness. Some found themselves in the “darkness and in the shadow of death.” Others were pushed to their limits by their labors which were overwhelming, and crushing. Others, because of their sin, and self-absorption, found themselves “abhorring all manner of meat,” or food, thus drawing near to death. In all these cases these men, and so many more, were brought by God in His goodness to the same point. It is the point of desperation, and resolve. On the one hand, there is the realization that apart from God and His merciful intervention, there will be no exit, or salvation. On the other hand, realizing that there must be a seeking of the gracious and benevolent God, there is the resolve to rise and seek Him, setting their whole gaze and hope in Him, living in the expectation that He will demonstrate His mercy and save them. It is written of these men, in Psalm 107, “Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses.” (v.28) David wrote of his same experience: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” (Ps. 34:6) That which is common to David and all of these men mentioned in Psalm 107, is that the Lord “…bringeth them out of their distresses.” (v.28) God answers, and reveals Himself faithful, gracious and merciful. He stills the storm, turns the wilderness (or desert) into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings. But perhaps the greatest of all the blessings is found in the words: “…He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” (107:9)
How then does one cry unto the Lord, and what should we cry for? Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to born again, of and by the Spirit of God. Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy to the wind that it come, the very wind of Pentecost, for it is the same Spirit of God. The greatest answer to the need of man is the Spirit of God.
Dear Father, Have mercy upon us and cause Thy Spirit to blow upon us this day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad