Hi there, and welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading, titled The God Who Restores, was written by Kimya Loder.

On November 4, 1966, a disastrous flood swept through Florence, Italy, submerging Giorgio Vasari's renowned

work of art The Last Supper, under a pool of mud, water, and heating oil for more than 12 hours.

With its paint softened and its wooden frame significantly damaged, many believed that the peace was beyond repair.

However, after a tedious 50-year conservation effort, experts and volunteers were able to overcome

monumental obstacles and restore the valuable painting. When the Babylonians conquered Israel,

the people felt hopeless, surrounded by death and destruction and in need of restoration. During this period of turmoil, God took the prophet

Ezekiel to a valley and gave him a vision where he was surrounded by dry bones. Can these bones

live? God asked. Ezekiel responded,

Lord, you alone no. God then told him to prophesy over the bones so they might live again.

As I was prophesying, Ezekiel recounted, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came

together.

Through this vision, God revealed to Ezekiel

that Israel's restoration could only come through him.

When we feel as if things in life have been broken and are beyond repair,

God assures us he can rebuild our shattered pieces.

He'll give us new breath and new life.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ezekiel chapter 37 verses 4 through 14.

Then he said to me, prophesy to these bones and say to them, dry bones,

hear the word of the Lord. This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones. I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you

with skin. I will put breath in you and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the

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