Three divine surprises in the garden

Here is a mirror held up to our own existence. Every day, we get the invitation to live out the reality of three truths we will get to read now. These truths are:-

• We experience unexpected provision.
• We remember our humble origins.
• We are sustained by something beyond ourselves.

“This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2 v 4-7)

We move into another account of the Creation story and we are blessed to see three things happen, each revealing something essential about how God works and who we are.

• Before the rain falls, streams rise. Water finds a way.

Can you see it? Picture that ancient landscape, no clouds gathering, no drops descending from heaven. The expected source hasn’t arrived, yet the whole ground is watered. Not by the means anyone would predict, but by springs welling up from below, from within the earth itself. Water that should fall instead rises.

Here’s the point: sometimes the answers you are seeking come from unexpected places. Ponder on that.

How often do we fixate on one door, one method, one solution, while God is already opening streams in places we haven’t thought to look? Provision doesn’t always arrive in the package we’re expecting.

• The creation of us came not from a spoken word, but the work of His hands.

Can you see it? Throughout Genesis, God speaks and creation happens. But when it comes to humanity, something shifts. God kneels. He reaches down. He takes dust into His hands and moulds it with the careful attention of a potter at the wheel. God gets down into the dust and gets His hands dirty to create something beautiful.

Here’s the point: we all need reminding at times that what we are walking on is where we came from, none of us are greater than that, God first met us there. Ponder on that.

We are formed from the most ordinary substance imaginable, common dust, humble earth. This should anchor us in humility while simultaneously filling us with wonder that God would choose such simple material to craft His masterpiece.

• Our existence was founded on intimacy with God.

Can you see it? God leans in to the lifeless human, mouth to nostrils, and breathes. His breath pours directly into our lungs, and we become living souls.

Here’s the point: the very core of our lives is to carry the divine breath of God. Ponder on that.

We aren’t just biological beings operating independently. Every breath reminds us that we’re sustained by Someone beyond ourselves, designed for closeness with our Creator from the very first moment of human existence.

Therefore:

1. Be less predictable in your faith. Stop limiting God to the methods you expect. Provision is coming from somewhere, so be ready. Keep your eyes open for streams rising while you wait for rain to fall.
2. We are dust and divine breath held together by grace. Never forget either half of this truth, ordinary material transformed by intimate contact with the extraordinary God.