<div id="dispwordtitle">
<h1>New Life on Old Battlegrounds -&nbsp;Sara Whitten, Kerrville, TX -&nbsp;Oct 10, 2025</h1>
</div>
<div align="left">
<p style="text-align: justify;" align="center"><img src="https://images.elijahlist.com/faces/Sara_Whitten_2021_600px.jpg" alt="" width="222" height="151" style="float: left;" hspace="10" align="center" /></p>
</div>
<div id="archive">
<div id="word-truncate">
<p style="text-align: justify;">The testimony in Ezekiel 37 of the dry bones coming to life is a familiar one for many of us. Recently, the Lord highlighted this text to me in a fresh way that I believe is a very timely encouragement.</p>
<p class="subtitle" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>When the Lord Initiates</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the first few verses of Ezekiel 37, it was the Holy Spirit who brought him to a valley of exposed bones. The foundation of this miracle was not the will or idea of Ezekiel but of the Lord.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">There are times in our journey where the Lord brings us to a place for the purpose of His supernatural plans. Often, it's not initially our choice or our idea. It may be a washed-up or forgotten dream. It may be something we've never even come across before.</p>
<p class="subtitle" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Where the Supernatural Begins</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>The stage for God's great plans often look like a wilderness at first.</strong>&nbsp;God didn't bring Ezekiel to a flourishing garden or an oasis. He brought him to a low and lifeless place, NOT for the purpose of wanting Ezekiel to experience hardship, but for the purpose of wanting the whole area—Ezekiel included—to witness the miraculous.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible footnote for Ezekiel 37:1 explains that for such a large amount of bones to be left exposed to the elements lends evidence to it being the "scene of a major catastrophe." Because none of the bones were given a proper burial, it was likely a battle scene. This had been the sight of a battle, most likely a defeat. To have one's bones left exposed to the elements was a curse one would wish on an enemy in that day and culture.</p>
<p class="subtitle" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Back to Our Valleys of Dry Bones&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=33196">READ MORE</a></strong></p>
</div>
</div>