Finding God’s Presence ~ All We Are is Dust in The Wind. Really?

We are like dust in the wind. His dust. His wind.

“All we are is dust in the wind …”

The lyrics drifted through my mind as the four-part harmony rose and fell into beautiful melody. All afternoon the tune from my teenage years replayed in my thoughts.

I decided to find it on youtube and explore the lyrics. Never before had I realized what a song of hopelessness Dust in The Wind is!

I began to pray and ask the Lord why He had drawn me to this song, especially in the midst of very difficult, chaotic days — why point me to hopelessness?

But then I realized something profound and I can’t wait to share it with you.

We know through the Scripture that we are made from the dust of the earth. Genesis 2:7 reads, “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 being.”

We also know that throughout the Scripture, especially the Old Testament where imagery was imperative to help the people understand who God is, wind represents the Spirit of God:

“And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind.” 2 Samuel 22:11

“He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind;” ~ Psalm 104:3

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said … ” ~ Job 38:1

“So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, for He will come like a rushing stream which the wind of the LORD drives.” ~ Isaiah 59:19

I’ve learned that the Hebrew word used for the Spirit of God is ruach, which means “air in motion” — wind.

Pretty amazing, right?

Consider this: in the natural, when I think of dust blowing in the wind I think of chaos.

The dust has no control and is steered by the wind. There is no appearance of order … just movement everywhere, often with destructive consequences.

Perhaps that is the image of hopelessness.

But now consider this:

WE are made of dust and the Spirit of God surrounds us as a wind. So, could it be that when life becomes chaotic with random twists and turns, and we can’t see which way we’re going, and we feel tossed like a pebble in a turbulent sea — could it be that our perspective is all wrong?

Because if we are dust and the Spirit of God is mighty like the wind, and in Him we are living and moving and have our being (Acts 17:28) why should we be afraid?

The Spirit of God is steering us in the way we should go.

The Spirit of God is in total control of every facet of our lives.

I love what Oswald Chambers said, “The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? I have to learn to identify myself with my Lord in holy communion in ways some of us have not begun to learn as yet. Narrow it down to your individual circumstances — are you so identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands?”

That’s what I desire, don’t you?

I desire to live in the abiding Reality of God where I understand that nothing can come nigh my tent without His knowledge — to know that His mighty breath steers the winds of change in my life.

I want to always remember that I am kept by the One who loves me, and though I be dust, the tumbles in life are secure upon the wings of His wind.

Selah

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Thank you so much for stopping by. I would love for you to share what’s on your heart in the comments below. Scroll a little farther down and you’ll see where you can leave your comments. Together, we can find the nearness of God in our darkest moments.

Sweet blessings to you,

NAN

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Congratulations to Diane Hawn!

Diane is July’s winner of an autographed copy of The Perils of a Pastor’s Wife.