Waiting

Life often diverges from expectation, and the Bible records seasons when hopes collapse and people find themselves in exile and waiting. The book of Lamentations captures the shock and grief of Jerusalem’s fall, while the larger biblical story moves from creation and the Garden through Abraham, slavery, deliverance, covenant failure, kingship, and finally exile. Wilderness seasons recur across Scripture—places of scarcity, loneliness, and purification that force honest waiting. Ezekiel’s vision in chapter 37 provides a concrete word for those times: a valley strewn with very dry bones that signal shame, prolonged decay, and a people diminished beyond hope.

Ezekiel walks through this valley and faces God’s question—can these bones live?—and follows a commanded, ordered prophesying: bones knit to bones, sinews and flesh form, skin covers, and only then does God call the breath. The movement shows that restoration is not sudden chaos but a deliberate, piece-by-piece reconstruction culminating in the divine breath that animates renewed life. That same breath reappears in the New Testament when Jesus breathes the Spirit into the disciples and finds fuller expression at Pentecost, where wind and Spirit empower believers for a new mission.

The wilderness has two simultaneous functions: it tests and it purifies. Long seasons may painfully strip away old hopes, but they also ready people for a new identity shaped by God’s presence. Waiting does not indicate God’s absence; it can mean formation. Lamentations anchors that hope in God’s steadfast love and mercies, which renew every morning. The valley image therefore becomes both diagnosis and promise—honest about despair, relentless about revival. Communion and prayer become fitting responses: remembering the cross as the guarantee that even dry bones can hear God’s voice and receive life. The call is to remain expectant, to let the wait do its refining work, and to trust that the Spirit ultimately breathes God’s people into a transformed purpose.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Wilderness refines, does not waste Long seasons of waiting often expose weaknesses and strip away masks, but they also serve as a refining fire. Rather than a meaningless delay, the wilderness can be a deliberate space where character and dependence on God are reshaped. Embracing that posture resists the temptation to rush back to old habits and instead yields maturity fitted for new calling. [48:02]
• 2. God rebuilds piece by piece Restoration in Ezekiel unfolds in stages—bones, sinews, flesh, skin—showing that healing proceeds in ordered, patient work rather than instant fixes. This pattern invites surrender to small, faithful steps as God reconstructs identity and community. Each formed piece matters; skipping stages misses the deeper transformation God intends. [53:02]
• 3. Breath equals Spirit, brings life The final act—the divine breath—turns assembled form into living community, linking Ezekiel’s vision to Jesus breathing on the disciples and Pentecost’s wind. Spiritual renewal does not merely repair function; it animates purpose, mission, and relationship with God. Waiting that culminates in Spirit-breathing moves people from mere survival into empowered witness. [60:30]
• 4. Hope anchored in steadfast mercy Even amid affliction and wandering, Lamentations insists on remembering God’s faithful mercy that is renewed each morning. That memory shapes a hope not based on quick change but on the character of God who remains present in exile. Fixing hope on divine faithfulness reorients sorrow into sustained expectation. [63:53]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [34:00] - Life’s unexpected turns
• [35:02] - Creation to the fall
• [35:33] - Promise, kingship, and exile
• [38:23] - Wilderness as a biblical theme
• [41:36] - Ezekiel taken into exile
• [44:38] - Ezekiel 37: valley of dry bones
• [48:02] - Wilderness: time and purification
• [52:17] - Rebuilding: bones to skin
• [54:53] - The breath of God
• [60:30] - Pentecost: Spirit fulfilled
• [63:53] - Lamentations and renewed hope
• [66:01] - Communion and prayer invitation
• [76:45] - Blessing and send-off

Based on the sermon summary and transcript, the primary text is Ezekiel 37:1-14. The sermon also heavily relies on Lamentations 3:19-24 and alludes to John 20:19-22 and Acts 2:1-4.

Bible reading
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV)
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Observation questions

1. In Ezekiel 37:1-2, what specific details does the prophet use to describe the condition of the bones in the valley?
2. What is the specific, step-by-step process God commands Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones, as detailed in verses 4-8?
3. According to the vision, what is the final and crucial element that must be added for the reassembled bodies to truly live (verses 8-10)?
4. In the sermon, what two things did the state of the bones—being on the surface and very dry—represent about the nature of a wilderness season? [48:02]

Interpretation questions

1. God asks Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?" and Ezekiel responds, "O Lord God, you know." What does this exchange reveal about the tension between human hopelessness and divine possibility in a season of exile?
2. The restoration happens in a specific order: bones, sinews, flesh, skin, and finally breath. Why might this ordered process be significant for someone who is expecting God to fix their situation all at once? [53:02]
3. The sermon connects the "breath" in Ezekiel's vision to Jesus breathing on the disciples in John 20 and the wind at Pentecost in Acts 2. What does this connection tell us about the ultimate purpose God has for his people after a season of waiting and purification?
4. In Lamentations, hope is anchored in God's "steadfast love" and "mercies new every morning" rather than a change in circumstances. How does this kind of hope differ from simply hoping for a problem to go away?

Application questions

1. Wilderness seasons often expose weaknesses and strip away masks, serving as a refining fire rather than a meaningless delay. [48:02] What is one "mask" or false identity that a difficult season in your life has forced you to confront and let go of?
2. Restoration often unfolds in stages rather than as an instant fix, with each formed piece mattering to God's deeper transformation. [53:02] Looking at an area where you need healing or rebuilding, what is one small, faithful "piece" you can surrender to God this week, trusting him with the process?
3. The final divine breath turns assembled form into living community, moving people from mere survival into empowered witness. [01:00:30] If your current season of life feels like just going through the motions, what would it look like to ask God to breathe his Spirit into your routine, animating it with new purpose and mission?
4. Even amid affliction, hope is shaped by remembering God’s faithful mercy that is renewed each morning. [01:03:53] What practical step could you take this week to intentionally "call to mind" God's past faithfulness when you feel bowed down by current circumstances?
5. Waiting does not indicate God’s absence; it can be a time of formation. Is there a situation in your life where you have interpreted God's silence as his absence? How might shifting your perspective to see it as a time of purposeful formation change your response?
6. The wilderness has a dual function: it tests and it purifies. [49:33] Reflect on a past "wilderness" experience. In what ways did it feel like a test, and in what ways can you now see it was also purifying you for what came next?
7. The call is to remain expectant and let the wait do its refining work. What is one way you are tempted to "rush back to old habits" to escape a season of waiting, and what would it look like to choose expectant endurance instead?