“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 (NIV)
God dwells in every human being when they received the breath of life, just as God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living being. If we are a living being, then God breathed into us, meaning that He is technically living in every single person.
God dwells in every soul in a different way, depending on how they respond to Him. In the souls who welcome Him, He shares His peace, joy, love and contentment. In the souls who treat Him like a stranger, He earnestly desires to share Himself with them but He waits for permission. Until then, He may lie dormant in a person, until they respond to Him.
God dwells in some people as an unwelcome stranger, giving Him limited access to the places within them. It’s like having a guest stay at your house but leaving them only one place to sit, restricting them from the refrigerator, bathroom, front porch and bedrooms. He is there but not welcome into the entire home.
Our soul is like our inner home that God breathed life into. He still dwells there, but He politely waits for us to invite Him into all the other parts of it. I was one of those people who once treated God as a stranger with limited access, until the day I recognized how much He always loved me. Then I invited Him into all parts of me, but still find new areas that He needs to be invited into.
Someone once said that when darkness surrounds us, it is there that we discover God’s true light.
Whatever darkness is in our lives, if we invite Jesus into all the areas of our soul, He brings His light into our hearts.
Many well known preachers, like Billy Graham and Mike Evans have said that prayer is an intimate conversation with God, but it was first said by a 16th century monk, called John of the cross. He defined prayer as an “intimate conversation with God, and a dialogue of love.”
The dialogue of love can only be found within us. We were created to have an intimate conversation with the one who first breathed life into us, otherwise we may spend our entire lives searching for joy and peace in futile things. It reminds me of the song from the 1980 film, Urban cowboy, “Lookin for love”. The lyrics say lookin for love in all the wrong places, searching for love in too many places, and too many faces etc.
It’s a great song, and a common theme that rings true to every soul, because everyone, at some time, has mistakenly looked outside of themselves to find peace and happiness. God gently calls us from within, where He first breathed life into us. His Spirit dwells in us and is constantly whispering to us, until we respond. God is love and we can never find love until we find God and invite Him into every area of our heart.
Lord, we thank you for breathing life into us and we invite you into every part of our soul, so that we may have a dialogue of love with you. Amen
