Light Day 15: Proverbs 20:22-27

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.
Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

 In Hebrew, the word translated “spirit” literally means “breath.”

This breath within us is God’s light – His lamp, His candle.

Yet what is this breath? What does this mean for us?

The first time the word is mentioned is in Genesis 2:7:

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

With that single creative act, Yahweh God transformed Man from inanimate, lifeless dust to a living soul. The breath of life was the catalyst that flowed from God to man that in one moment completed the transformation. And that breath of life is still flowing from God to man by means of His Holy Spirit that He has placed upon us and within us.

The grandeur of this creative act of God strikingly outpaces even the magnificence of God’s first creative act: “Let there be light.” Picture the scene: thick darkness was upon the face of the deep. Nowhere did a single speck of light penetrate or illumine anything. Yet what happened next? The Spirit of God (Divine Breath) moved upon the face of the waters. The Breath of God moved, God spoke – and light appeared!

Now picture the scene after God formed man from dust. There lay man, a perfectly-shaped yet totally lifeless form. Without life, darkness lay deeply upon mankind. Then God initiated face-to-face contact – personal, intimate contact with mankind – breathing into his nostrils the very breath of God – and man became a living soul. Divine, holy light burst in splendor over man’s entire being. Animated by God’s breath, man lived for the first time. The breath that man breathed was the life-breath of God Himself.

Yet then what happened? Man sinned, and the connection with God’s breath was severed. The breath was knocked out of him. “In the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die.” This death happened – darkness descended upon man’s life.

But this isn’t the end. God still shines His light into man’s life – by restoring His own Divine Breath within us. By the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, connection with God was restored. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, He breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He also commanded them to wait for the promise – the Holy Spirit of Promise that the Father would send. When it came, it came with the sound of a rushing, mighty wind that filled the house, manifested itself as a literal “candle of the Lord” (tongues of fire), and completely transformed the lives of the disciples.

What a vivid and powerful picture! The Holy Spirit that breathed life into man in the beginning and the Holy Spirit that fell upon and filled the disciples is the same Holy Spirit that lives in us today. He truly is God’s light within us. Receive that Divine Breath today, and allow its fullness to transform you to true, abundant life in Him!