Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live. [Genesis 2:7 (GNT)]
You were made from soil, and you will become soil again. [Genesis 3:19 (GNT)]
Today, I thought again about that handful of dirt in the farmer’s hand and remembered the creation story. God scooped up a handful of soil, breathed life into it and made man. I don’t care whether the words are figurative or literal or if they support the creationist or evolutionary points of view. All I know is that God made something out of nothing then and continues to do so now!
He takes our worthless parts and gives them value. He imparts our exhaustion with vitality, our weakness with strength, and our loneliness with love. He makes whole our brokenness, fills our emptiness, and replaces despondency with hope and sorrow with joy. He gives sight to the part that is unseeing, perception to the part that is unhearing, and a voice to the part that is mute. He replaces our shame and disgrace with forgiveness and mercy. He takes our soiled parts, washes them in His blood, and makes them clean. He fills that cold void in our core with hearts of compassion and scoops us out of darkness into the light. He holds us in the palm of His hand, takes all of our deadness and decay, and breathes new life into us.
Thank you God, for taking this handful of soil and filling me with life anew!
Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love, and do what thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, Breath of God, until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will, to do and to endure.
Breathe on me, Breath of God, till I am wholly thine,
till all this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, Breath of God, so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life of thine eternity.
[“Breathe on Me, Breath of God” by Edwin Hatch]
Devotions of the Heart 