Breath of Heaven

SCRIPTURE: Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7 ESV

THOUGHT: There is something about letting someone close enough to feel their breath—it’s not a thing we do with many people in our lives. I read once that in the stages of relationship there are few things more vulnerable than allowing another near enough to touch our face, but this is how close God came to “inspire,” or “breathe into” us.

The worship song Great Are You Lord says, “It’s your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise.” As I sang it recently, I found myself thinking about our very breath belonging to God, and the intimacy of God breathing life into us. Perhaps this is the “unforeseen kiss” of heaven meeting earth that songwriter John Mark McMillan wrote about in How He Loves, a lyric suggesting how intimately we are known by one who wove us in the womb, knows the number of hairs on our heads, and hears our thoughts. Everything else in creation, God spoke into being—but humans required more intimacy: using his hands to shape us, then his breath to make us alive.

The hymn, Breathe on Me Breath of God, written in 1878, is also a poignant telling of this truth, as are songs such as How He Loves, Great Are You Lord, and yes, the song that is the title of this devotion, Breath of Heaven. They pre-suppose that the God of Heaven is still breathing life into us—and that is very good.

SONG: How He Loves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyedxYR05Es

PRAYER: Oh God, breathe on me anew, literally “inspiring,” your life into my humanness.