The Holy Spirit, Close As The Very Breath We Breathe

Michael W. Smith sings a song called ‘Breathe’ in which he expresses so well thoughts like

“This is the air I breathe…
Your holy presence living in me…

Your very word spoken to me…

I’m lost without you…
I’m desperate for you.”

The Holy Spirit is as real as the air we breathe.

Can the Holy Spirit be as real and life-giving as the very air we breathe?

Ruach (pronounced roo-akh) is the Hebrew word for spirit, breath, or wind. Notice how even when you speak the word, it engages one’s breath and lungs. The first mention of Ruach in the Bible is in the very first chapter of Genesis – Genesis 1:2 to be exact:

“And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (Ruach) of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

This was God’s original relationship with his creation and humankind, but throughout time human beings have made God into something that is afar off. Doubt is cast on whether he really exists and if he does, he is unknowable and so far detached from us puny humans that he is irrelevant. And in some vain attempt to cling to him just in case he is real, humans created religion and created God in an image that serves them and in some cases, he is a mere placebo we use to placate this imagined God in case he is real enough to throw some lightning bolts our way.

How sad, when God is so much more, so connected to his creation, particularly humanity. In many ways, if you think about this word, Ruach describes him best. Ruach is described as a wind (for example, in Numbers 11:31 and Exodus 10:13), but also as spirit (in Judges 6:34, 1 Samuel 16:14 and 1 Kings 18:12). And then, in Job it is translated as breath

^“In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath [Ruach] of all mankind.” Job 12:10

Wind, spirit and breath seem all encompassing to me. Three things that are invisible to our physical eyes but are so undeniably ever-present. We should pay particular attention to the scriptures that add Ruach HaKodesh, which connects the meaning of Ruach particularly as being the Holy Spirit. As in Psalms 51:11. We also see Ruach connected to Ruach Elohim leaving no doubt that the Holy Spirit is God, the God that empowers and inspires the creativity and ability of humans to accomplish great things, particularly things that serve and glorify God as in Genesis 41:38, Exodus 31:3, Exodus 35:31. Ruach, being intangible but present, also signifies consciousness and creative vitality that is unique to human creation. We bear the image of God, which separates us from the animal kingdom. In Ezekiel 37, Ruach gave life to the dry bones that Ezekiel saw in his vision. He illuminates us to the truth and reality of life with God in Christ. The Ruach (Spirit), in the words of Sinclair Ferguson, “does not add information about Jesus, He simply opens our eyes to see who He really is.”

Scriptures are God Breathed

The Ruach quickens us to the veracity of Scriptures, which are God-breathed. The Spirit verifies them and makes our hearts respond to the truth therein. The role of the Word and Spirit are intimately entwined. The word is breathed by God (2 Timothy 3:16). Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath (ruach) of his mouth all their host.”

The Spirit of God lights our path. Ferguson continues that the Ruach (Spirit) “enlightens our minds to enable to us know, see, grasp and apply the will and purposes of God.” He is our comforter, our counselor and our helper (John 14:26).

The Holy Spirit is all about you like an ether.

Ruach, imagine a presence so real that he is around you and in you and is nourishing every cell in your body, soul and spirit. God is the eternal Creator. He is Spirit and therefore he is unlimited in his power and expression. He is the ‘Great Balance’. Picture if you will a great presence all about us and in every living thing, like an ether . His presence is a vast invisible ocean that fills us all with life and connects us to the Creator. Within it, there are often storms and it is always filled with the ripples caused by each created being’s choices good and evil, and even those things that are basically neither good nor evil. The most peaceful and enlightened among us still send forth a steady ripple, an energy that stabilizes or disrupts. We are all connected. All we do affects every other thing. Our actions cause the greatest ripples of all but have no doubt our very thoughts also affect all living things and all creation. All we see, hear, touch, smell and taste is part of this omnipresence all around us.

How can I teach you how to recognize this Creator expressed in the Holy Spirit? Shall I tell you how to recognize the breath that you breathe? Shall I teach you how to recognize your own heart’s beat? He is the essence of all created things. If you look with spirit eyes you will see the Creator in all things. He speaks in our every breath we breathe and all that we see…Listen, still he speaks, “I am that I am.” (Hebrew: Ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehye. Exodus 3:14)

He is intimately involved in all areas of our lives. His presence is all around us.

His true power and harmony are displayed when even the creation shows forth his power in the midst of adversity and overcomes. It shows forth how powerful he really is. We are all connected to the Creator by his Ruach more intimately than I think we can even comprehend.

His omnipresence is the life that runs through all things and though it runs through us it also is us. All things are one. We are all part of the great mind. The Great Spirit is in us all. He only can make the claim to be perfect truth. As we abide in him, we are part of that grand design. If we depart from the light, then in light’s absence the darkness becomes our guide. And darkness is a blind guide that only leads to more darkness until it overtakes you.

Listen to the voice of the Creator as he speaks through his Holy Spirit.

He speaks in every breath of every living thing. There are times he is so personal that we can bask in his presence and sit at his feet, but you must also learn to recognize his presence all about you, in the ether that surrounds and inhabits us all. Learn to practice his presence and hear his breath on the wind and his voice in the sound of the brook or the leaves that crackle across the ground beneath your feet. Be aware always and do not draw back in surprise at the breeze that suddenly travels through the great hall of your mind and soul or the whisper of the wind in the trees wondering what it is but know it is only his presence for it is not possible for him to be present and not cause some effect and he is present always and in every place.

Name above all names

He doesn’t need a scary man in a pulpit to speak. Picture courtesy of Free church clip art

Call him Creator, Holy God, Holy Spirit, Father or even Papa (Abba means Papa or Daddy. Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6, and Mark 14:36) He has gone by many names and still goes by many names. Do not get hung up on a name. Names come and they go. Names inspire at one time in our life and another name inspires at another time in our lives. Do not let a name, per se, ever be what you worship; to do so you have placed yourself in a cage of limitations that the Creator never intended you to inhabit. Point being, get to know him personally, intimately. He longs to embrace you and guide your every step. He longs to be the breath you breathe when you feel like you can’t draw another breath. He speaks through everything and every circumstance if you will tune your spiritual ears to hear. Jesus himself beckoned, “Let he who has ears to hear let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15). He doesn’t need a scary man in a pulpit to speak. He can speak from his creation or in the voice of a child. Even when circumstances of life seem like they want to kill you, in reality, they are the smith that heats and pounds the steel to draw out the sword only he sees within you. He is the true teacher speaking deep in our souls. A true teacher is not here to fight our battles, but to whisper from our heart, reminding us it is us, it is every one of us who holds the power over the worlds we create and the things we give our power away to. Deny it if you will, you can try, but the Creator’s love is such that he will not let up because he believes so much in you that he will just keep sending a teacher in another form until you recognize and receive them. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy as we listen through ears of worry and fear. Listen…listen. Let him calm the storm within you so you can hear the still small voice speaking from within.

“Then He said [to Elijah], “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)

When the student is ready, the teacher will be recognized, then greatness begins! Try to convince yourself that they can’t be real. But they show up anyway, sometimes at the strangest of places and times. They will shout through demons if they have to, but if you are truly discerning, truly listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit, you will not be shaken by what seems to be a threat, but you will hear the Spirit’s voice daring you to be and do more than you ever thought possible, challenging you to fight. That monster you thought would surely kill you? Listen closer for he sings ‘You will not die’. Learn to laugh at the lies. Let the Spirit teach you what is real and what you will die to defend. Know that every chain that seems to bind you, he holds the key to unleash you. It is he who teaches our fingers to war (Psalms 144:1) and helps us see that we have all the weapons we need to fight (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Get to know him in the pages of his holy book.

He has written his words in the color of blood. Read of one who paid with his life so those who lived in a wasteland called Earth could know hope, peace and forgiveness, life where there once was death. And as you read the pages of the book, first, you will feel its pain, pain as one whose heart is broken, pain that brings you to your knees. Then, the pain begins to pass and love and light flood your soul. Warmth like the warm embrace of a blanket wrapped about you by an open fire on a cold winter’s day. Warmth like a warm and soothing drink seems to bathe you inside from head to toe. Feel its life come into your soul, feel his hand upon your shoulder. Behold the eyes that penetrate to the very soul and somehow you know it is he who wrote the words in his own blood. Hold the book close in your embrace and behold and realize it is he whom you hold and he holds you and all is well. When you feel that you are lost, he is the voice that speaks and the constant reference point for all of creation.