There’s a lot of effort and attention placed on gifts this time of year. I’m proud to report I have 95% of my Christmas shopping done and wrapped. I’m a planner; what can I say? I love the process of finding gifts that make people happy. Some of the gift ideas came from the individuals, but my favorite gifts are the ones they aren’t expecting.
This week after church, God placed a thought on my heart. And, as He often does, he spoke to me in an acronym. Some of you may not know that the title of this blog – Simply J.O.Y. – is an acronym for JesusOver You: living a life that puts Jesus before yourself.
On Sunday afternoon, I was thinking about the message we heard; the idea of gifts and Christmas took an unexpected twist. It’s something I want to share with you over the next three weeks. I hope that by Christmas, you’ll see gifts from God that you hadn’t expected or considered. And, maybe, you’ll shepherd those gifts from a new perspective as we head into a new year.
G.I.F.T. – God Is Forever True. God cannot lie. His Word is truth. Therefore, what we read in Scripture is the God-breathed truth that we are to apply to our lives. And this week, I want to talk briefly about the Gift of our creation. In Genesis 1:26-27 we learn the inspiration for our creation: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
I’ll bet you’ve read that passage dozens of times. But have you ever ruminated on it? Let the depth of that truth sink into the deepest parts of your being? God spoke light into being. God spoke the sky into being. God spoke land and seas into being. God spoke plants and trees into being. God spoke the sun and moon into being to mark seasons, days, and years. God spoke creatures into being.
But God breathed life into man. Genesis 2:7 tells us, “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.” We are the only being that carries in us the very DNA of the Father. His very breath fills our lungs. Jewish sages associated the covenant name of God, Yahweh, with breath. The idea is that the name itself, when pronounced, is the sound of breathing: the two syllables of the name correspond to the intake and outtake of a single breath. In this way, the theory goes, our breaths evoke the name of God. The breath that gave us life sustains our life. Every breath we take speaks the name of the Father.
I love this and sometimes when I struggle with stress or can’t sleep, I deliberately breathe “Yahweh.” Calling out to my Father through the simple act that gave me life. I want you to take a moment, right now, and breathe the name Yahweh. Be present in this moment. Take captive the significance of the first G.I.F.T. – the truth of a Father who could have spoken you into existence but chose to fill you with His very breath. A Father who for the first time (but not the last) would pour His holiness into your being. Just sit. Breath. And with each breath, embrace the love with which you were created. In His image.
Looking at this amazing gift, through this lens, overwhelms me. It humbles me. It saddens me because I take for granted the breath that the causes my lungs to fill and empty with the love of God. The breath that I’ve wasted on meaningless things. The breath I’ve insulted speaking in anger. The breath I’ve diminished choosing impatience over kindness.
The breath of Heaven that has the power to change lives; given to me. Breathed into me with a love beyond human comprehension. A gift that is forever true. And mine to shepherd; may I do so with a grateful heart and a passion to honor. One breath at a time.
This week’s accompany prayer can be found at https://simplyjoy.online/prayers/yahweh/
Beautifully said!! Thank you, Rhonda!!
Thank you, Nick!! Merry Christmas!