Ezekiel 37:14 “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.”

Over and over, the Lord gives Ezekiel the same command in chapter 37 of his book: “Prophesy.” “Preach!” God’s power is in his word. It gives life. It works miracles. It changes people.

It’s been that way since the very beginning. “God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.” “Prophesy to these bones… Prophesy to the breath… Prophesy to my people,” the Lord commanded Ezekiel. Then the bones came together, and the bodies lived. Seventy years later God’s people went home. Their nation survived.

Jesus tells us his words are spirit and life. Thus they are able to give life. Paul writes that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. It creates faith where there was none before. Faith comes from hearing the message. That message is still the tool the Holy Spirit uses to make us spiritually alive.

Did you notice how certain God was that his words would restore the faith and hope of his people and bring them home? “I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.” The fulfillment of this promise lies 70 years ahead, but the Lord speaks about it in the past tense. God is like Dr. Seuss’s Horton the elephant. If he makes a promise, he always keeps it. “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant–an elephant faithful one hundred percent.” Once the word is out of his mouth, the promise is as good as done.

Looking back at history, we know that God kept his promise. Israel went home. Years later the Savior came, and the world was saved, just as the Lord had spoken.

For those who follow Jesus and know his promises, there is always hope. We have his word. “Preach the gospel,” an old professor of mine used to say. “And when that doesn’t work, preach the gospel.” There is life and help in those words, even for bones that are very dry.