Beloved, today’s message is particularly written to all Nigerians especially those in the hem of affairs as we commemorated our dear nation’s independence.
Congratulations to you all and thanks be to God for another year of independence in Nigeria’s history. Well, the question in most people’s heart today is what has Nigeria got to show for her 48th years of Independence?
This brings me to the message the Lord impressed in my heart as I thought about our beloved nation — Nigeria. Like Prophet Ezekiel, the Spirit of the Lord took me to a familiar book and chapter of the Holy Bible, Ezekiel 37, and revealed some awesome things to me, which by His grace I will be sharing with you in today’s page.
Ezekiel 37:1 — 11
‘The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, 0 Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, 0 ye dry
bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, to, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, 0 breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they
say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts”.
When the Spirit of the Lord took Ezekiel to the valley of dry bones, what he saw baffled him. Hopelessness, nastiness, evil, corruption and nothingness, cruelty, lack, etc were all he saw, ‘why would God bring me into such a disgusting place’ he must have taught.
There was nothing good or pleasant about the place God took Prophet Ezekiel, and why he was wondering why on
:earth God would cause him to come to such a place, he heard God’s voice saying “Son of Man can these dry bones live?” Now let’s pause a while, does the case of Nigeria seems to you like this valley of dry bones? Well maybe or maybe not. Because our beloved nation is a blessed land with good natural resources, yet in the midst of these abundant natural wealth many Nigerians starve and live in abject poverty. Our case therefore can be likened to the situation Ezekiel found himself. Until the Lord’s voice echoes in his ear, ‘can the present situation be bettered’? ‘Can poverty be eradicated from Nigerians living in Nigeria’? Can things even become pleasant again for everyone? Well without knowing for sure what to say, he replied saying “0 Lord God, thou knowest”.
That was the best he would answer because I believe he really wasn’t sure if something good will ever come out of nothingness. Then repeatedly the Lord instructed the Prophet to prophesy to the situation before him. Dearest, no matter the state we are in today, God’s response is still very much the same as it was then. The solution to every terrible situation is in Christ Jesus and the power to achieve these solutions he graciously gave to his Church (orderwise referred to as the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ) — those who Christ have purchased to himself by his blood, these are the true born again believers and faithful stewards of the Lord. We are mandated to prophesy to the terrible state of our Country and see God perfecting things to please his people and land.
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