As a baby, I was diagnosed with asthma. Over the years, there have been times when I battled to find my breath when having an asthma attack. One of the worst attacks I ever had was a time in high school where my ability to walk from the couch to the bathroom was challenging because I felt as though I was breathing through a straw. I would stop for a moment, regain my breath and continue my trek to the bathroom. I am blessed that as I have grown, my allergy-induced asthma has become less of an issue. God has brought healing to my life.
The breath of life is vitally important. When a baby is born, everyone in the room awaits with great expectation for the child’s first breath and there is beauty in the sound of the newborn’s first cry. The miracle of birth and the reminder of God’s creative ability to breathe life into the newborn proclaims how awesome our God truly is.
In the song Great Are You Lord, the chorus proclaims:
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only
God breathes life into us and through the breath He has given to us, we give praise to His Holy Name. In Job 33:4 we read, “The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” When we recognize God is the author and sustainer of life, giving us the breath we need to fully live, we should use that very breath to praise Him and to proclaim Him to people who are around us.
We recognize there are times when our spiritual life becomes dull and dry. In Ezekiel 37:1-14 we read about The Valley of Dry Bones. Ezekiel prophesies to the bones and they come together with sinews and skin. Then Ezekiel prophesies to the breath and the Lord breathes life into these dry bones that are coming alive. In the song Great Are You Lord, the lyrics proclaim this truth when we sing:
All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord
In our spiritual walk with Christ, there are times when we are struggling to breathe. The busyness of life overwhelms us and we scurry from one event to another, exhausting ourselves. We struggle to breathe and may feel as though we cannot go any farther. Yet, when we stop for a moment and take the breath we have in our lungs and give God praise, we recognize the struggles and problems become less daunting and less overwhelming. We begin to breathe more clearly and there is a beautiful cycle as I give praise with the breath in my lungs; my breath comes easier as God breathes into my dry bones.
How is your spiritual breathing? Do you need to slow down and praise God with the breath in your lungs? As we continue to live the adventure of following Jesus, know that our breath (physical and spiritual) comes from God and as we focus on Jesus and worship Him, we discover it is easier to breathe because He is in control.
Prayer: Thank you for the breath in my lungs. I want to praise you with every breath of my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.