How the Breath of Life Reveals God’s Desire for Relationship with You

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When times get tough, it’s so hard to remember that God is close to us, isn’t it? Have you ever felt that way? Did you ever wonder what the meaning of ‘the breath of life’ is? And what it means for you?

Your teen is upset but refusing to talk about it. Your toddler drew life-sized pictures of the family on the wall with a sharpie. Your husband is going to be home late again when you really just need the cavalry to come in and save the day. And that’s just the day-to-day stuff.

What about when you get a call about your favorite aunt needing that emergency surgery? Or when your husband comes home telling you that he got laid off of work? Or you got the diagnosis you were dreading?

God Feels So Far Away

So we turn to prayer. Remember that God is so close. In fact, I wrote about him being nigh because we always wonder where God is when trouble comes. Frankly, we always wonder whether he even hears us or even how close He is.

From the very beginning though, God has always been there. He’s been so close, in fact, if He were standing next to us in flesh and blood, it would be a little awkward how close he is.

God Breathed the Breath of Life

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.” Genensis 1:1. We all know that, don’t we?

And we know that God created Adam from the dust of the earth. Genesis 2:7

You may or may not realize that Adam and God were so close there in the beginning. He breathed the breath of life into Adam. He didn’t just breathe life. God breathed “into [Adam’s] nostrils the breath of life.” (v. 2:7, NIV)

I remember talking to Sweet Firefly (my 5-year-old) the other day while we were doing devotions. When we read that verse, I asked her, “How close do you think God had to be in order to breathe into Adam’s nostrils?”

After I explained exactly what a nostril was (facepalm), she said that God would have to be pretty close.

Darn right he would be!

We even tried to show each other what that would look like. We giggled as we got so incredibly, and awkwardly, close to each other.

As He Knit Us Together, God Was Close

But that’s not the only place in the Bible it talks about how close God is to us.

Psalm 139:13 says that God knit us together in our mother’s womb. Have you ever tried knitting before?

It takes such incredible focus to knit. I just learned how to finger knit last fall. I thought it might be something that Sweet Firefly could do to help get rid of her extra mental energy on rainy days.

It might be that I’m finally getting “old lady eyes” but I have to get so close to the yarn and focus to make sure it is just right.

While I was working on a cute knitted headband, God whispered, “That’s what I do with you, too.”

Oh, He’s so good, isn’t He?

The Love of a Heavenly Father

Sister! Get this. God did that with you, too. He knit you together in your mother’s womb. While your mom was feeling those sweet little alien kicks at night, He already knew everything about you and He longs to be close to us.

More importantly, He IS!

You may already know my story – how I haven’t seen my biological father since I was four. And even how the man who I wound up calling my dad hasn’t been in the picture for about 15 years now.

To know that my Heavenly Father has been there all along is just what this girl finally needed to realize! Sure it took until I was 39 years old. But that’s okay.

Because God even loves his slow and stubborn children.

I want you to remember this, friend!

He is never far away from you. When we think He is, it is because we have turned our back and can’t see Him.

But He’s always there!

When has there been a time when you thought He was far away only to realize that He was there all along?

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