Creation
002
| Canopy
“And God said, “Let there be
an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the
waters. And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the
expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.”
Genesis 1.6-7 ESV
When this passage was translated from the
original language, the word “expanse” could have also been interpreted as
“canopy.” Have you ever walked through the woods with trees so close together that the branches and leaves blended together? They form this false sky of green and brown, fluttering and rustling with vibrant and diverse life. As you stand there, looking up at the canopy above, the world suddenly seems very safe and yet very wild at the same time. The vibrant livelihood of nature invades your soul, a strange blend of tame and wild, of common and divine.
Now begin to think of the air around you as a canopy. Take a breath. Let the atmosphere fill your lungs. Inflate your chest. Close your eyes and breathe. Feel your newly oxygenated blood flowing through your veins, pumped by your heart. Feel the air flow to your toes and fingers. Feel it return back to your heart and take another breath to fill your blood cells with air once more. We thrive on the air around us. We thrive on this canopy surrounding us, like a child inside the womb. We are alive and yet we do nothing. We don't have to think about
And yet they do.
Our bodies operate in this way because our brains subconsciously tell them to do so. But who programmed our brains? Who decided the way that our bodies would work, the way our lungs would swell and deflate with a beautiful rhythm, the way our hearts would beat like a ceaseless drum? For a moment, forget about the neuroscience of being alive and revel in the beauty of it. Revel in the marvel of existing, of being alive.
Breathe.
Now begin to think of the air around you as a canopy. Take a breath. Let the atmosphere fill your lungs. Inflate your chest. Close your eyes and breathe. Feel your newly oxygenated blood flowing through your veins, pumped by your heart. Feel the air flow to your toes and fingers. Feel it return back to your heart and take another breath to fill your blood cells with air once more. We thrive on the air around us. We thrive on this canopy surrounding us, like a child inside the womb. We are alive and yet we do nothing. We don't have to think about
And yet they do.
Our bodies operate in this way because our brains subconsciously tell them to do so. But who programmed our brains? Who decided the way that our bodies would work, the way our lungs would swell and deflate with a beautiful rhythm, the way our hearts would beat like a ceaseless drum? For a moment, forget about the neuroscience of being alive and revel in the beauty of it. Revel in the marvel of existing, of being alive.
Breathe.
The Hebrew name for God is YHWH. It’s four
Hebrew characters:
“Yodh Hey Waw Hey”
These four characters, when pronounced one at
a time, make breathing sounds. Try it. Breathe in. Yodh. Breathe out. Hey.
Breathe in. Waw. Breathe out. Hey. There are those who believe that this name
for God is the sound of our breathing to remind us that He is what sustains our
lives. We cannot go more than a few moments without speaking His name, without breathing. Without having Yodh Hey Waw Hey fill our lungs and bring us life.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Call out to Him, the
Creator and Sustainer of Life.
The Prayer
Dear Giver and Sustainer of Life, thank you for another day. Thank you for another breath, another heartbeat, another chance at life. Thank you for this breath, this heartbeat, thank you for today. Help me to be reminded constantly of my desperate need for You. Help me to rely on You and Your strength, not my own. Yodh Hey Waw Hey. Amen.
The Question
When do you need to be reminded of God's sustaining life the most?
