Nougat 9

Greetings siblings,

I pray you have been basking in the wonder of creation. Our God is truly amazing. I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero in the aftermath of Melissa, and the signs of renewal amid the visible devastation offered hope. As we consider Today’s Holy Nougat, may we be moved to praise our God who speaks life into being.

Psalms 33:6 NIV

[6] By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

By God’s Breath

Have you ever exhaled on a cold day and seen your breath? I remember that being a fun passtime for us as children, we’d puff out as if we were smoking. As fun as it was, those puffs on their own were just particles of air. Yet, when sound is added to those air particles – in cold or hot weather – they convey ideas and thoughts that spark creativity.

For the psalmist, God’s breath is capable of calling forth that which didn’t previously exist. Ironically, the psalmist didn’t literally hear God’s voice at work, but possibly inferred it from the creation story and personal experience.

Self-Check

What do we infer about God as a result of our own life experiences?

Digging Deeper

In Hebrew, ruach refers to both breath and spirit. To speak of God’s breath, i.e., God’s Ruach being part of the creative act, suggests that God’s Spirit was present at the beginning. Some scholars inner this from the use of ‘us’ in Genesis 1:26-28. Further, the phrase, of his mouth implies a command or order. So, we hear the psalmist painstakingly stating that the constellations were established by the command of God’s Spirit.

Not our typical evolution theory at all, rather an acknowledgement of God’s active engagement in the creation process. That, for us who dare to believe in God as creator, is cause for praise.

Just think, if God is capable of calling forth galaxies and constellations through the command of God’s Spirit (or by a mere breath), there’s nothing that God is incapable of creating or doing. Is it any surprise that David exclaimed at God setting God’s glory across the heavens in Psalm 8?

Siblings, I agree, it takes faith to believe in God as creator. But logic cannot entirely explain creation and how it all came to be. We still have to engage some level of faith for other theories, whether in evolution or the Big Bang. Each time I pause long enough to behold the splendour of God’s creation, I choose anew to believe it is a deliberate, non-random act of God. And I’m drawn once again to praise. How about you?

Point to Ponder

Belief in God’s God-ness is a choice. It also involves seeing YHWH’s input behind the scenes. There is scope for faith and science to coexist. But we must use our faith in understanding science, and allow science to undergird our faith. Can we see God at work in the theories we embrace? How does it affect our praise?

Praise Break

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May all we seek be found in Christ