Episode #155 Too Many Christians Try to Live This Way – Cultivate Wonder

Hey friends! In our very last episode, we were marveling at God's breath, how scripture is God breathed and as humans, how we are too, and asking God how we can be filled with more of his life-giving breath. And today I want to continue that thought with you.

As we cultivate wonder, looking at this concept of breath, and I'm actually going to read a few pages from my poetry collection, A Beckoning to Wonder. And these lines are from a poem titled, “What Continues”, and it's really looking at the problems that we can find ourselves in. Sometimes our circumstances can just feel so heavy and overwhelming, our mistakes can feel so problematic that we hide ourselves away or we try to survive without the breath of God that we desperately need. And so I want to read a few stanzas for you as we explore that idea.

“We
of our
choosing
crash,
cave,
constrict,
contract,
try
to
survive
oxygen
deprived.

He of His choosing
offers fullness of breath
offers ongoing rescue to life again.

God sought shame-covered Adam and Eve.
In brokenness they hid.
Yet God came to find them.
Removing their shame, He clothed them in care.
Promised rescue.

God revealed Himself to Cain and Abel, even outside the garden.
Cain withheld worship but called it good,
stole breath from his brother when God didn’t agree,
wandered away afraid of the same sin-designed doom.
Yet God marked him protected,
eliminated his fear.

God promised barren Abraham and Sarah
a nation of children.
They didn’t trust Him, held it against Him.
Splintered their family by a different story.
Yet God followed through on His Word.

God rescued the enslaved nation of Israel.
Out of Egypt they vowed to follow Him.
But Moses lingered on the mountain.
People panicked. Ruptured into chaos.
Worshiped an art project
as the god who rescued them.
Yet still, God’s Presence guided them.

God cared for His hard-headed people
as their Sovereign King.
Led them in travel. Went before them in battle.
But other nations had human kings.
Israel wanted to be like them.
God warned them of their pending pain
and still they tore away.

In all
generations
God’s
people
sin
and
return to God
and
return
to
sin
again.
And
again.
And
a
g
a
i
n
.

We falter and fracture. Yet God never does.
B r e a t h e .” (Jen Weaver, “What Continues” in A Beckoning to Wonder)

That cycle is familiar to all of us, but we don't have to pull ourselves away or become concerned by our own shortcomings, because we can come back to God and breathe the life-giving oxygen He gives us. See our stories falter and fracture, but God's never does. We see that on display in scripture and we see that in our own lives as well.

If you have a copy of A Beckoning to Wonder you know that there's a list of scripture references that connect to each poem in the back of the book. I'll drop those scripture references here in the show notes if you want to go back and research those passages that relate to the verses I read for you, but I want to leave you with a verse from John 10:10. It says:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I come that they may have life and to have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

God offers you life today. He offers you to receive life from him. And so we're going to ask him to show us if there are any ways that we've been trying to live without his oxygen, without his life-giving spirit, without his presence. Or any ways that we've separated ourselves from his story. And so here's our question, and I encourage you to follow that conversation with God, wherever he leads.

God, will you show me, are there ways I've been trying to survive oxygen deprived? And what do you offer me instead?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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