8th December 2021, 20:49, Lagos
Two months ago I woke up in the early hours of the morning, reached for my phone, and started writing. I could feel a story being poured into my spirit and I decided to pour it out on a page to consume when I was fully awake. Weeks after writing the story, the Spirit of God kept bringing my attention to one particular line “and He breathed in the house”. You see, in this story (not available to the public yet soz), the Lord breathed in the home and the man and woman in that story changed – they got more mature, their clothes changed, the home they were in expanded and everything increased in stature and quality.
The best way to explain what happened is to picture the famous scene in the Cinderella story. Do you remember how the fairy godmother would wave her wand and things would literally start moving? Cinderella would go from wearing a shabby old dress to wearing a beautiful ball gown? She’d go from having simple shoes to a sought after glass slipper? She’d have a chariot, fleet of staff and all sorts at her feet? A simple wave of the fairy godmother’s wand made that happen. Similarly, in that particular story on account of the Lord’s breath everything changed.
You see I couldn’t understand why God was telling me that. I had written the story in October and in December he’s talking about the old story I wrote. It didn’t make a lot of sense if I’m being honest. However whilst listening to a sermon I came across John 20:22 and Genesis 2:7. Let’s look at these scriptures:
And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
John 20:22
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.
Genesis 2: 7
Turns out that there are only two instances in the bible where God himself breathes on people or things. This happens in the time of creation when forming Adam and also in the coming of the Holy Spirit. In both instances, the sermon I was meditating on explains that God’s breath is associated with creation. When He breathes, a new thing is created. And just like that I had a magical aha moment! I knew why he was drawing my attention to that line and now, I’m going to share why with you.
I remember writing a story a while back which explained how myself and hope have a strained relationship. Currently we are working on our issues but honestly in the past we had a very strained relationship. Why? Because I hate disappointment! So in order to avoid disappointment I would shy away from hoping so I can “protect” my heart from it not working out. However the Lord has taught me that the very essence of faith is hoping that things don’t just work out but that they exceed my expectations and hence, I had to repair my relationship with hope and have learned to keep it close to me.
In saying that I remember going through a very painful “break up” with someone I cared deeply for. I put “break up” in quotation marks because we weren’t in a relationship i.e. we were friends but it felt like a dramatic breakup. As time elapsed, we both decided to keep our distance from each other and stopped communicating completely. In my solitude there was a certain narrative that was being developed in my mind – he is who he is, I would have to accept things that make me sad, it doesn’t get better than this etc. Now by no means was this person in question a monster. On the contrary they were (and still are) amazing! However, we all have needs we desire from the ones closest to us and we need to work with them to see how these can be given in a healthy way. Anyway! This folktale kept playing in my subconscious – the past is as good as it gets, the honeymoon phase is the sweetest point, they have seen you finish etc.
First of all, can I just say that my self-talk at that point in my life was just wow. That’s not the way to talk to myself or about a person or situation. The presence of a wound had conditioned me to start telling myself that my relationship with that person can’t be repaired and it is impossible for it to blossom beyond what it was previously. Have you ever had such thoughts? They usually seem fleeting and harmless but trust me – they can be very damaging. Those thoughts can cause someone not to look at the future with a heart of expectation. This is what God was trying to highlight to me. I believe He was saying “I can create a new thing which is better than what you experienced in the past and many folds more beautiful!”
In the bible, we quote Isaiah 43:19 a lot which says “Behold I will do a new thing” but do we actually believe it? Do we genuinely believe that the Lord can do that in our lives? Till you see the new thing there is a tendency to believe it’s not possible and it won’t happen for you but I say why not? He can do a new thing and it will be better than before.
I always say to God that he’s a God of Ephesians 3:20 meaning He does beyond all I can ask, think or imagine. He truly does! I pray today that the Lord will reveal this to you. I pray that this story will inspire you to see that his breath can truly create something new with what you have or even from scratch. Shall I prove it? Okay see this:
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And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
John 20:22
In this scripture Jesus is addressing his disciples who are mature adults. These men have lived their lives as jews and observed certain spiritual practices. As new Christians, they’re just settling into it. They aren’t perfect. They’re pursuing God the best way they know how. The Lord takes them as they are and creates something new. With the descent of the Holy Spirit these men are emboldened, they receive power and become audacious in spreading the Gospel. This is a clear example that shows God’s breath creating a new thing using what was already in existence.
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.
Genesis 2: 7
In this scripture God is dealing with dust – absolutely nothing. As in NOTHING. Yet, he breathes into dust and a new being is created.
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So God clearly shows us that 1.) He can create something new from our “something” i.e. what we have and 2.) He can create something new from nothing.
Your relationships, jobs, businesses, and circumstances are not too far from the breath of God to touch it and transform it. I pray that as you sit by His feet He will breathe into your unique situation and make it a new and more beautiful thing.
Love always,
Tumi
