Ground Zero - Getting up and getting on

Ground Zero: Getting Up and Getting on
By Innocent Mwangi

[Photo caption: Jane recuperates at Agha Khan Hospital in Nairobi. Sitting besides her is her husband, Innocent Mwangi]

Three years ago my wife suffered a sudden stroke that was caused by a bleed in her lower-right brain. As I frantically looked for a taxi to take her to the hospital, my mind raced through a myriad of possible explanations as to what could have caused the bleed. No one in our families had ever suffered a stroke. What then could have caused it? I had left her early that morning cheerful and energetic as usual. There was no warning. No sign at all that something of that magnitude could ever happen to us. One moment we were all going on with our lives - happy, energetic, and cheerful - the next moment we were speeding towards Aga Khan Hospital where she was admitted. The next few days were even more chaotic. My wife lay on the hospital bed alternating between half consciousness and coma. Everything seemed to have happened so fast and so mysteriously. It seemed like an enemy arsenal had been unleashed into a territory so peaceful and calm, completely shattering the tranquil of our lives. It appeared we were rapidly hurtling towards ground zero. All hope seemed to have disappeared into thin air!

There comes a time in our lives when the normalcy of life as we know it is suddenly and ruthlessly shaken. On September 11, 2001, the Americans, and indeed the whole world, found themselves mercilessly flung into an abyss of terror when terrorists crashed two planes into the twin 110-storey towers that used to seat the World Trade Centre. In one moment, the Americans were going through the motions of their lives, happy and contented to be citizens of one of the world's most secure and prosperous nation. In the other, the whole country was reduced to cries and wails as frantic and desperate efforts were made to rescue the more than 10,000 people trapped in the searing inferno. When the flames had died out and the once two towers reduced to a pile of rabble, over 4,000 people had lost their lives. For the rest of the USA citizens lucky to be alive, life as they knew it had irrevocably changed! They had hit ground zero. Nothing was to be the same again. Like in my wife's sudden illness, hope seemed to have surreptitiously sneaked out.

When you hit ground zero, all the structures that you had so meticulously put together throughout your life, the beliefs, and the very foundations of your identity come crushing down. All of a sudden you realize that you need to redefine your life again.

Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37) suddenly found himself at ground zero when he and all able-bodied men - about 10,000 of them -were captured and taken to captivity in Babylon. After Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian Empire, thousands of Israelites were captured and taken into captivity in Babylon. Ezekiel and his wife were among the captured exiles. Nine years into exile, Ezekiel's wife died after suffering from a sudden stroke. In effect, Ezekiel had hit ground zero. All hope seemed to have dissipated.

One day as he lay down to sleep, exhausted and hopeless, the hand of God took him round a valley, which was full of bones, very dry bones. As his tired eyes looked at the dry bones, he could almost smell the desolation and the atmosphere of death pervading throughout the valley. As his mind tried to figure out what could have happened, he heard the voice of the Lord ask; 'can these bones live?'

In essence, the Lord was asking him whether it were possible to bring hope into a situation where hope seemed to have taken an indefinite vacation. The bones were not only devoid of flesh, they were very dry, meaning that whatever had happened here happened quite a while ago. Whatever hope there could have been for the annihilated army seemed to have left a long time ago. All that was left was desolation. The pungent smell of death pervaded the entire valley.

I'm reminded of another desolate scene that was played at Calvary. A scene so tragic and yet it is because of that scene that we can now have eternal life. As Jesus hung on that cross, sandwiched between a hopeless sinner and a repentant one, one can almost feel the desperation of His followers as they stared up to Him for any flicker of hope. A lot of unanswered questions must have gone through their minds. Isn't this the same man who raised the dead? Why then can't he get Himself of that old rugged cross? As they stood there still hopeful that Jesus would somehow make a last effort to save Himself, the Son of Man instead lifted His head towards heaven and died. As they stared in disbelief at the dead body of their once inspiring saviour, a sinking feeling of hopelessness enveloped them. To them, the faint flicker of hope that they had so desperately clung onto had been mercilessly snuffed out.

One can only imagine Ezekiel's frustration as he pondered over what the Lord had asked him. If he replied in the affirmative that the bones could live, how could he back that up if the Lord asked him to prove it? Memories of his dead wife were still fresh in his mind. On the other hand, if he had answered in the negative, it would have meant that the situation was even beyond God's control. Having considered these two answers, Ezekiel decided to go for an evasive answer: 'only you knows'.

Within this short answer, Ezekiel effectively put the responsibility of reviving the hopeless situation squarely into God's hands. He was well aware of the fact that no human effort could bring the dry bones alive. If that were possible, his wife would have been alive.

Many times we are confronted with situations that our friends, our families, our governments, cannot help us. Those who put their trust in money and wealth soon realise that money cannot buy everything. There are things like good health, being alive, joy, peace, etc. that money cannot buy. Our governments cannot even guarantee us security, as was the case in the USA last year.

However, even in times of absolute human ineptness, God always has a way out. What Ezekiel had forgotten was the fact that we are made in the image and likeness of God. As such, we have the nature and character of God. The same creative power that God used when He said 'let there be light', that same power resides in us. God's response to Ezekiel's evasive answer was meant to show him that the answer for the desolation of the valley of dry bones was within himself.

'Prophesy', God said to Ezekiel. If God was a man of many words, this is what He would have said to Ezekiel: 'You know I gave you creative powers, you know you are crafted in my image and after my likeness. If I can do it, you can do it. Just go ahead and prophesy'. That's it! The power to rise from your ground zero lies within you. Even as you behold the desolation all around you, the crumbled ashes that were once magnificent buildings, the blood-stained streets of Jerusalem and the Gaza strip, remember you have the power to reverse whatever destruction it is the devil had caused. Stand in the middle of your emptiness and desolation and prophesy life and you will soon see your valley of dry bones suddenly come to life. It may take some time as each bone looks for it's partner, but very soon, instead of the distressing valley of dry bones, you will behold a formidable - a vast army!

The most wonderful thing is that God is always with you even as you hit bottom rock. In Psalms 139: 7-10, the Bible says: 'Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.'

Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego knew this all too well. Even when King Nebuchadnezzar ordered that they be thrown into the fiery furnace that had been heated seven times beyond normal, they were not ready to worship an image as they were confident that God will be with them in that fiery furnace.

You could be suffering from a debilitating disease, an incurable illness. The doctors have pronounced in your hearing that there is no known cure for your ailment. It seems like your world has suddenly been enveloped by darkness and you feel as though hope has gone out the back door. Don't give up! Speak to your conditions right now! Prophesy healing to your body and you will be made whole. You see, God is with you even in that condition. He is telling you 'prophesy healing to your body'!

Sometime last year we posted at our site (www.swordofthespiritministries.net) an online prayer request that was passed to me by a cyber café operator here in Nairobi. Debra, a lady living in USA, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Two months later, I walked into that cyber café and inquired from the young man how Debra was getting on. He looked at me apologetically as he said: 'I'm sorry pastor, I should have told you weeks ago, the cancerous tumour has disappeared. She is completely healed now.' As I walked out of that Cyber Café that day, I could not help but marvel at the way God works. The same God that healed Debra from cancer will heal you today if you call on His name. Speak His word of healing into your situation and you will be made whole.

You may not have a problem with your health, but the health of your company or institution may be looking pretty bad. No one wants to touch your company's stocks because it is on the rocks. But hold on, you have been created in the image and likeness of God. Prophesy to your company's success and you will soon start recovering. Your company will once again be a darling of stockbrokers.

I guess what I'm hoping to get across to you is the fact that there is nothing impossible with God. The Bible says that '... whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do ...' (John 14:13). It does not matter how bleak your situation looks, there is hope even after hope has gone. You will live again! The devil may have pronounced the death penalty on you but Jesus has repudiated all that with a 'life sentence' - eternal life!

To the American citizens who lost loved ones last year. To all those who watched the twin towers come crumbling down in September 2001. To mothers who lost their children in the inferno and thick mass of concrete and dust. To husbands and wives who watched helplessly as they searched for the names of their partners on the survivors' list just to realize they were missing from those lists. To the innocent Israelis and Palestinians who have for years lost their loved ones to terrorist attacks in the Middle East. To all who find themselves in that valley of dry bones. In that place desolation, pain, and anguish. And to all those who for one reason or another are undergoing severe poverty, sickness, etc. I can only tell you one thing, notwithstanding your condition, there is still hope. You will live again! You will thrive again! You will triumph again! In Jesus name, Amen!