God is closer than I thought

There is a truth that I found in Genesis 2 that has changed my perspective of God.  God is closer than I thought He was.  I have always known that God sustains me and watches over me but this truth opened my eyes to the level of intimacy that exists between God and me though I was unaware.

Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

In the past, as I thought of this verse, I pictured lifeless man laying on his back on the ground while God bent over Him in an awesome moment of intimacy and breathed the breath of life into Adam.  I imagined Adam opening his eyes and finding himself staring face to face with God.  The first thing Adam saw was God’s face smiling over him.  After giving the breath of life to Adam, I thought Adam began to breathe on his own.   

Here is the truth in this verse that brings me to the point of awe and fills my eyes with tears in adoration of my God.  In our translations the word “breathed” is translated in past tense because the English language does not have the Qal Imperfect tense that is in the original Hebrew text.  Therefore, we read the word “breathed” as a one time event that took place in the past.  This is only part of the truth.  The Qal Imperfect tense speaks only of a part of the whole event from within the event.  Imagine cutting a cake into pieces.  Before the cake was cut, we called the whole cake, “cake.”  After it was cut, each small piece is also known by the same name, “cake.”  The same is true of the Qal Imperfect tense.  It represents a piece of the action that took place in the past and is still taking place in the present. 

Here is the amazing truth about Genesis 2:7.   The breath of life that God breathed into Adam is still happening today.  God is breathing into you and me this same breath of life right now at this very moment.  God is closer than we think!  

Let me ask you a question that shows the level of intimacy we experience with God.  The breath you just breathed, was it your breath or God’s breath?  Here is the truth, IT WAS BOTH OF YOUR BREATHS.  Amazing!  Awesome!  Every breath I breath is not mine alone, it is also God breathing in and through me.  It is, “OUR Breath” God.  You O Lord are amazing.  I praise Your holy name! 

As I discovered this truth, I felt like my eyes were opened just like Adam’s eyes were opened.  Like Adam I found myself in an awesome moment of intimacy with God as He was / is breathing the breath of life into me.  I felt Him smiling over me as I became aware of His amazing presence that was always there though I was unaware. 

I praise and worship God for His closeness.  I also praise Him for His amazing grace.  While I was in sin, God was still breathing into me and sustaining me.  Some people think God could never forgive them.  They also think God is far away from them.  The exact opposite is true.  So long as we have the breath of life in us, there is hope for us.  We have not gone too far from God.  God is closer than we think.  He patiently breaths life into us even while we are in sin so we can have every opportunity turn from our sins and return to Him.  What an amazing God we serve!
I also praise God because this truth allows me to rest securely at night without worry.  Where is there room for worry?  Worry becomes foolishness.  God sustains me not my own strength.  My breath is not my breath, it is our breath oh God.  You alone determine the length of my life.  You are in complete control.  God’s breath will sustain us until our purpose on earth is fulfilled and then we will spend eternity with Him (Read Acts 13:36).

Here is my prayer for you and myself.

Ephesians 3:17-19 says, “…I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long, and high, and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…”  My prayer is the same, Father, help us know your Love that is beyond our ability to know.