Let Go So You Can Grow and Embrace the “New”

A prophetic word is a divine declaration that speaks death to one season and life to the next. We cannot fully embrace the new thing God has for our lives if we’re still clinging to the old, even if the old was good. If you are not willing to let go, then you are not ready for the powerful transformation God wants to release in your life. Don’t let the fear of letting go or the chains of the past prevent you from stepping into the fullness of all God has for you. Let go, so you can grow and embrace the new.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19 ESV)

Kingdom Key: God is calling you out of the valley of death and saying, “It’s time to live again!”

The Great Surrender

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.” (Ezekiel 37:1 ESV)

What do you do when God sets you down in the middle of the valley and all you see are bones? You must understand this isn’t just a normal valley. You are standing in a graveyard. The presence of bones whispers a story: others once alive walked this very ground. But now, only the remains speak of what was.

If God is a good God, why would He allow precious things to die? It’s easier to accept when He asks us to lay down what’s harmful or unhealthy. But what do we do when it’s a promise fulfilled He gave us? What if it’s a gift that came straight from His hand, and yet He asks us to surrender it? These are the deep waters of faith where true surrender is no longer theory but tested in the hidden chambers of the heart. It’s in these sacred moments that we discover whether we trust God, even when we don’t understand His ways.

Kingdom Key: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what He’s calling you to release. What do you need to let go of to embrace the new? Surrender it fully. It’s time to let go so you can grow.

The Place of Separation and Consecration

“And He led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.” (Ezekiel 37:2 ESV)

The valley is a place of separation and consecration where God matures us. He often leads us through the valley to show us what’s really beneath the surface. It’s easy to stay shallow, but the valley demands that we dig deep, or we will perish. This is where superficial faith or borrowing the faith of others won’t sustain you. You must press into the presence of God for yourself and dig your own well.

Yes, we need community. Yes, it’s a blessing when others pray, prophesy, and encourage us. But there are times when even your most faithful friends cannot go where God is taking you. The valley is a place of separation and consecration where you need to dig deep in God’s presence. (Photo via Unsplash)

“How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness! Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward.” (Psalm 84:5–7 TPT)

Kingdom Key: The valley is a place of separation and consecration. It’s a place of maturation, where you learn to dig deep because borrowed faith will no longer sustain you. What feels like isolation is an invitation of intimacy to encounter the living God!

The Place of Intimacy, Not Isolation

The valley is a low place, a humbling space, where the ground beneath you feels stripped bare. In the valley, all false comforts fade, the crowds thin, and fair-weather friends fall away. Not everyone can follow you into the depths. Even those who love you may not be able to journey into the sacred stillness where God is preparing you for greater things.

Some paths can only be walked in solitude, where Heaven leans close and the soul is stripped bare. It’s a lonely road, painfully beautiful, where the crushing becomes holy and the wilderness becomes a womb for glory. No one else can carry the weight of your becoming or pour out the offering only your life was meant to give.

As the noise of life grows quiet and the only place to look is up, there is beauty in the narrowing. The valley creates a singleness of focus. It strips away the superficial and clears the clutter from your vision. Though the valley doesn’t define you, it will refine you. And in that stillness, you are left with one pursuit, one anchor, one unshakable hope: deep, unbroken intimacy with God.

“The hand of the LORD was on me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.” (Ezekiel 37:1–2 NIV)

Kingdom Key: Sometimes God places us in the valley to remind us who He is while refining who we are. The valley doesn’t define you, but it will refine you. Lean into the sacred isolation. Embrace intimacy with the Lord. He alone is everything you need.

The Place of Resurrection Power

“There were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry.” (Ezekiel 37:2 NET)

The valley was full, not just with bones, but with stories that ended too soon. This image is a sobering reminder that many have been placed in the valley before you, but not all made it out. Some gave up when the silence felt louder than God’s promises. (Photo via Flickr)

Don’t let that be your story. Purpose in your heart not to give up in the valley. Do not allow yourself to be buried in the valley. Do not become another statistic of those who gave up in the middle of their promotion because they simply could not see or understand what God was doing!

Kingdom Key: Many didn’t survive the valley. Don’t let that be your story. The valley is not your grave. It is the proving ground of your promotion.

The Place of Promotion and Miracles

Though the valley can look barren and empty at first glance, valleys are often more fertile than mountain tops. Make no mistake, while things contrary to the Spirit must die, the valley is not your graveyard but a place where miracles are born! It’s a place where Heaven feels quiet, yet God is closer than ever. The valley is a place where God breathes life into what was dead. It’s where the ashes you mourn become the soil where miracles are born. In the stillness, He is bringing things together and forming something deep within you. Something eternal. Something unshakable. Even when you can’t see it, He’s working beneath the surface, preparing you for the weight of what’s coming!

“Then He said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” Therefore prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 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.”‘” (Ezekiel 37:11–14 NIV)

Kingdom Key: The way of the Kingdom is wild, holy, and supernatural, where death gives way to extravagant life, and everything lost is the precipice of gain. Being marked for promotion often looks like a demotion in the natural. If you find yourself in the valley, congratulations! You’ve been promoted! No one likes the valley, but the valley is the place where miracles are born!

The Place Where the Flesh Dies and Your Spirit Soars

While there is death involved in the valley, the religious spirit will try to capitalize on this time of isolation and tell you to not just crucify your flesh but to crucify the divine nature and personality that God gave you. Who told you that you were too much? Who told you it was more godly to hide your light rather than shine it? Stop trying to kill the very thing that God gifted you! Stop trying to kill the very thing God loves most about you!

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:15–16 NRSV)

Kingdom Key: God wants us to crucify our flesh, not our spiritual nature and unique personality in Him. Shining your light isn’t pride; it’s purpose! Don’t shrink back. It’s time to shine bright for God’s glory!

The Place to Prophesy Your Way Out

Although we can’t rush or bypass the journey in the valley, God is faithful to reveal when it’s time to rise up and come out of the valley. So, how do you do that? Ask for God to pour out His rain, but it starts with first giving Him full rein. Surrender fully to His Lordship. Get into the secret place and commune with God. Communion is more than taking bread and wine; it is intimacy with God. It’s the place where the rivers of living water begin to flow, filling every dry and empty space until it lifts you up from the depths. (Photo via PixaHive)

“I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.” (Isaiah 41:18 BSB)

The same power that raised Christ from the dead is poised to breathe life into your dry bones, to revive what looks dead, and to restore what you thought was lost. Heaven moves through yielded vessels. Your agreement matters. Your voice carries the authority to unlock graves! You don’t have to wait for someone else to prophesy over you. Rise up! Stir up rivers of living water!

“Rivers of living water will flow from [your belly].” (John 7:38 NLT, brackets added)

Place a demand on Heaven! Command the atmosphere! It’s time to speak to the dry bones in your life that are trembling, awaiting the fire of your faith, ignited by the Holy Spirit, and declare that they live again!

“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves.” (Ezekiel 37:11–12 ESV)

Kingdom Key: The one who is placed in the valley is not the same as the one who comes out. Worship is the key. Intimacy is the path. You don’t need to wait for someone else; it’s time to speak to the dry bones in your life. Press in. Partner with Heaven. Command the atmosphere, expect Heaven to move, and prophesy your way out!

Prayer

If this message resonates with you, it’s time to come out of the valley! I believe the atmosphere of Heaven wants to flood the valley of dry bones that you have found yourself in.

Place your hand over your heart and pray this prayer with me: Holy Spirit, come with power. Breathe into every dry place. I yield completely to You. I surrender the old, and I make room for the new. I break agreement with fear, with despair, and with delay.

I declare: Though this valley is my proving ground, I will not die here! Let every dead dream and every buried promise come alive with Your resurrection power. Where there has been barrenness, let rivers of living water begin to flow!

I ask for the atmosphere of Heaven to invade the atmosphere of my life. Flood me with Your Spirit! Let the rivers of living water burst forth from within me. I speak to my spirit: Rise up in the power of the Holy Spirit! It’s time to hope again! It’s time to live again. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Jenn Nestler
Esther Company
Email: Jenn@Esther-Company.com
Websites: www.jennifernestler.org | www.esther-company.com 

Jenn Nestler’s mandate is to see the Bride of Christ wildly set ablaze in God’s glory and fire, administrating His rule and reign in the earth. She moves strongly in the prophetic and healing anointing, and her heartbeat is to minister the purity, truth, and beauty of God. Jenn is the founder of Esther Company and writes regularly on her blog at www.jennifernestler.org. Besides being a daughter of the King, her most treasured role is being a mom to her amazing children who reside with her in Lancaster County, PA.