Courage Not to Hide

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I’ve always been interested in God’s numbers … the significant numbers mentioned in Scripture: The seven pillars of wisdom; seven spirits of God; the four winds of breath in Ezekiel, etc.,

Chapter 37 of the Old Testament book of Ezekiel 37 recounts his vision of the valley of dry bones. God tells Ezekiel, prophesy to these dry bones. And then the bones stand up, tendons and flesh gather on the bones.

8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’

10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.”

(New International Version, 1985)

So I wondered about those four winds. What did they represent? How is it those four winds could bring dry bones back to life?

On March 30, 2016, I was up at 4:43 AM and I was reading Ezekiel 36 and 37. And in my spirit I heard God speaking to my heart about the four winds. Some of what I wrote down that morning was that the wind from the north was truth; the wind from the east was light; the wind from the south was understanding; the wind from the west was courage. Truth—you get it. Light—you see it. Understanding—you discern it (or your place in it). Courage—you act upon it.

Okay, so I’m NOT presenting these thoughts about the four winds as a new interpretation of Scripture. But it is an interesting insight.

Over time, in many mornings, that insight about courage was expanded. None of us can have past courage or future courage. Courage is only possible in the moment – in the now, in the present. That there is no overcoming without now courage. No future from fear without now courage.

Three months later, in June of 2016, I received another enlightening message about those four winds. This is what I heard in my spirit:

“All four winds come from me, but only the fourth wind, the west wind, is the one you must live out. My truth, my light, my understanding (discernment), but you need to adopt courage as your own. It takes courage not to fear. It takes courage not to hide …”

One of the many things I’ve learned over the last eight years is that it takes courage not to hide. Because hiding is deadly in a marriage. Hiding is deadly in any relationship.

I believe, if we want to bring life to these dry bones of ours, we have one viable option. You and I “need to adopt courage as your own."