Genesis 2:7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And it’s another warm, sunshiny but windy day in our neighbourhood. And I’m so sorry for the poor trees as they are forced to dance this continuous wind dance. (smile) But seriously though, for the last couple of years we’ve been having a lot of strong winds for no apparent reason, but this year it’s been the worst ever. Several days at a time the wind just keeps on tearing across the neighbourhood: sometimes hot, sometimes cool, but always in a hurry to go where no one knows.
As Jesus so correctly said to Nicodemus, the Jewish leader when teaching him about being born again in the Holy Spirit. ‘The wind bloweth where it listeth (wishes), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one born of the Spirit.’ (John 3:8)
And if you’re wondering what that all means, what’s the symbolism of the wind in the Bible, then this commentary gives a good explanation. ‘Wind is a Biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit. Like the wind, the Holy Spirit comes in suddenly and from seemingly nowhere – He whirls about the atmosphere and changes everything. The Spirit, like the wind, moves wherever He wants and is, at times, unpredictable. Breath is also a Biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit.’
It’s like how the Bible says of the Creation: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon (hovered over) the face of the waters.’ (Gen. 1:1-2)
So the Holy Spirit was there right at the beginning of creation, ready to perform whatever job was necessary. Likewise, it was the Holy Spirit that provided life in man. As the Bible tells it: ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ (Gen. 2:7)
Yes friends, like the proverbial potter, the Lord formed man’s body from the dust of the ground then breathed the breath of life or Spirit (Heb. ruach) into him, making him a living creature. So the Holy Spirit is indeed important and like the wind moves and grooves wherever it is needed, but most importantly, today it dwells within each believer to lead, guide and comfort us as we live the Christian life here on earth. And unless we pay close attention to the still, small voice that the Spirit usually speaks in, we will miss God’s amazing plan and purpose for our lives.
That brings us to this prayer from the Let Us Pray section of this month’s In Touch Devotional, which seems to jive rather well with what we’ve been speaking about, the mystery of God and His Holy Spirit. So please pray with me: ‘God, I know some things about You, but so much remains a mystery – and that often unsettles me. The mystery of You is like a midnight sky – so immense it could swallow me whole. But I know Your LOVE is vaster still. God, help me find beauty in the unknown, and to LOVE whatever I glimpse of You. In Jesus’ name, amen.’
Yes mih bredrin, our God is great and full of mystery, and we’ll never understand the half of what and who He is. But that’s why He is God! His omnipotence, omniscience, and omni-presence is way above the ability of our finite, puny minds to comprehend. And He’s informed us of that in His word, through the prophet Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9)
That’s it in a nutshell my people! We can never understand all that our God is, we just have to believe and have faith, because we see and experience His goodness towards us. And if we get close enough to Him, every so often He will give us a glimpse of Himself; of His imperial majesty, of His miracle working power, of His comforting Spirit, and of His unconditional LOVE.
But all of that is just window dressing, for He’s already given us the biggest and most important part of Himself, that’s His only Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who came to earth and died as a propitiation, an appeasement for our sins. As one of my favourite Bible verses reminds us: ‘But God commendeth his LOVE (demonstrated his own LOVE) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)
Oh my fellow saints, there could never be a bigger, heartfelt, genuine showing of LOVE than that! The Lord LOVED us so much that He broke His own heart to save us from eternal damnation and hellfire. And now, that’s where our eyes must be focused – on the Lord Jesus Christ. Living the way He desires, doing the things He wants us to do, making sacrifices for others like He did for us, but above all…LOVING Him with all our hearts, souls, bodies and minds.
And we’re talking about a true and genuine LOVE, not some wishy-washy, opportunistic, selfish emotion, because that’s exactly what He deserves after all the earthly ‘sufferation’ He endured for our sakes. Now, for those of us who are truly trying to live for Christ, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful, enviable and incomparable situation in Christ Jesus.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if we truly endure to the very end with Christ, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So see you there! Much LOVE!
…but for the Lord’s greatest gift…His son Jesus Christ…we’d all be hell bound…
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