Day Six - Divine Breath & Sculpted Earth
I always think winter is the perfect opportunity to begin running again. And when I say running, I mean the shortest steps, toe forward (marathon style cadence) that looks like most of your walks! 😳... it’s slow and steady and ridiculous looking. Plus in minus temperatures my dress code is even worse than my running style.
I did this with my closest Montreal friend through my second winter here and it was so powerful. Winter is a super challenging time for our family (and many others) as we all navigate lower energy and some seasonal affective things that go on.
And i I just needed fresh air through this season. I needed to breathe in life. Real air, not the inside dry air, but the glorious although freezing air. This week has reminded me what I crave. A breathing pattern that I can feel it all the way down to my insides.
So watch this thought around the girls we are growing to love from the Scripture...
As I was teaching about the names of the daughters the first time years ago, a few girlfriends who are Hebrew scholars were scattered throughout the room that night. I heard later that as they were all looking at the five daughters names, they noticed that the names all ended with ‘AH’ and apparently (as Hebrew scholars do) they text each other with much excitement ‘did you SEE that?’
Here is what the ‘AH’ means on the end of a name:
In Genesis 17:5 Abram has had four encounters with YHVH God. On the fifth occasion God takes a part of his own name representing breath, life and spirit and inserts it into Abram's name. This gesture is symbolic of God breathing life into Adam and is a prophetic picture of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon all people at Pentecost.
The changing of Abram (to AbraHAm) and Sarai (to SarAH) both came with an explanation of blessing, increase and multiplication. (If you have time read Genesis 15 – 17 and be inspired for the promise of inheritance). This coupled with the meaning of the letter AH or HA itself (grace, breath) means that when God inserts a part of his own name (character/image) into a person it supernaturally/spiritually grants (gifts) them with an ability to have greater capacity, influence and prosperity.
This gesture has carried on in Hebrew tradition by adding AH at the end of many names as a symbolic gesture of incorporating that life-giving spirit/breath part of the name of God as a reminder of WHOM it is that gives capacity, influence, blessing and favour. So I am adding an AH to my name.. VANESSAH.....
I do not know if Zelophehad would have done this on purpose or not –
but once again we have God positioning Himself right into our worlds.
Whether your name be the ‘bird who cannot fly’, weakness and shaky or you could feel embarrassingly favored and extravagantly loved right now – God is in your name. His Spirit is poured out upon you and within you.
When human body meets divine spirit, soul is born.
Divine breath and sculpted earth come together to make up the living soul.
For thousands of years, philosophers and theologians have posed the question: what is a human being? Here God gives the answer.
One day the Eternal God scooped dirt out of the ground, sculpted it into the shape we call human, breathed the breath that gives life into the nostrils of the human, and the human became a living soul.
So take that ‘BREATH’ of God’s Spirit – breathe it into to the very fibre of your being. Now exhale.
Today your bold step could be to boldly breathe… speak over your name with the breath of God….speak out again your inheritance …continue to let God rename you and release healing over some of those names spoken over your life. Or arrest the moment when the enemy wants to name you as failure, ineffective, inadequate ... Possibly it is time to be honest with someone who still treats you according to your ‘old name’ and place a boundary in that relationship by letting them know you are different and you would appreciate them changing the way they refer to you. Or take some time with God, in the presence of His Holy Spirit and let Him come right into the places of your heart where you have lived in this name
What is your naming step gorgeous girls?