ATP, Spirit & the Powerhouse Within: A Reflection on Divine Energy in Our Cells
ATP begins at the very first stage of life, at the moment of conception. The mitochondria, often referred to as the “powerhouse of the cell,” provides ATP, the essential energy required to sustain and spark new life.
As a Christian, I can only be in awe of how scripture verses I’ve always taken to heart, have been amplified and brought to life with deeper understanding and clarity.
“For in Him we live and move and have our being”
explains so innately how He does it. The energy "chi," the “vital force”, within us echoes the very function and design of the ATP process.
One of my favourite chapters of the Bible comes from Psalm 139. I can see now why it has always touched my very core:
“He knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13)
Had I known back then just how much this would carry from youth to adulthood, especially now as a holistic somatic facilitator, I might have understood the magnitude even sooner. You only have to look at the formation of cells and how they work within us to see we are physically entwined, energetically and spiritually.
Spirit, Energy, and the Light Too Powerful to Behold
For so long in my faith journey, I didn’t quite grasp the reality of God's Spirit in the here and now. I knew God. I spoke of Jesus. But the Spirit? I hadn’t been taught how alive, present, and foundational it is to our daily being—not just our salvation.
Without fully embracing the working of the Holy Spirit, we miss out on appreciating and witnessing the Spirit we profess to carry.
ATP is essential—as is the Spirit of God. It’s His Spirit within us.
I spoke with someone today about this very thing. And I said,
“I can't help but think of God as this pure, powerful energy, a light so bright that our human bodies couldn’t survive the exposure.”
And then I began to see it reflected in scripture:
Moses and the burning bush.
Saul’s conversion and blinding light.
Lot’s wife, turned to salt.
These aren’t just dramatic moments—they’re glimpses into the magnitude of God’s presence.
You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.” (Exodus 33:20)
Moses could only handle a glimpse of God’s back while shielded in a rock cleft. Even that partial exposure carried weight.
Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice… Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.” (Acts 9:3–9)
The light didn’t just symbolically blind Saul, it was physiological. His body couldn’t withstand the brightness of His presence.
“But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:26)
This verse has always been framed around disobedience. But what if we’ve missed the deeper truth?
Yes, obedience mattered. But perhaps her transformation wasn’t just a judgment, it was protection. Being exposed to the full presence of divine power descending on Sodom may have been too much for her human body to bear. Salt, in Hebrew culture, often symbolised covenant, preservation, and transformation. She didn’t merely “look back”
she witnessed something she wasn’t meant to.
What if this wasn’t about punishment—but about the magnitude of His presence?
What if looking back meant stepping into something her body couldn’t endure?
We focus on the consequences—but what if this was God shielding us from a kind of exposure no flesh could survive?
Our Physical Frame as the Vessel
When we observe our physiology through the lens of scripture, something profound happens.
The words no longer stay flat on the page. They begin to live within you.
We begin to see the entanglement—how our physical frame is the vessel for spirit and energy.
“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)
“We have this treasure in jars of clay…” (2 Corinthians 4:7
Next time you look to the sky, or see images of galaxies and stars, or observe the intricacy of a single cell under a microscope… pause. You’re not looking at randomness.
You’re looking at intentional design. Energy. Communication. Creation.
We are not one static being.
We are a living network.
Witnessing. Learning. Reflecting.
Vessels of His Spirit.
And He is present, still in the spark that gives life
