YOU, LORD, Are the Breath We Breathe
Breathing is normally an easy task; however, I remember well watching people I love struggle to receive their next breath. My uncle Carroll was a smoker, one who smoked packs of cigarettes each day while he lived. When I was a child and wanted to “try” smoking, I knew exactly where to “lift” some cigarettes, and I did “steal” some from my uncle Carroll one terrible day, and my confession found came quickly, for I felt the guilt of my action.
Right now, let me introduce you to my chain-smoking, beautiful smiling, kind-hearted, and highly-favored uncle Carroll. He was a man who stole my heart early in life. I absolutely loved it when my grandparents took me to uncle Carroll’s and aunt Delena’s house in the small, north Indiana town.
- Even though everything has changed, the memories remain within my being.
- Even though he has now passed, the love for him remains inside my heart.
- Even though I cannot sit around that kitchen table playing Aggravation (a board game) any longer, the smiles remain inside my mind.
Nonetheless, when I think of breathing and the struggle that comes with straining for your next breath, I think of my uncle Carroll who struggled during his final days of life to Inhale and Exhale Precious Breath.
- What does the Bible speak about breathing?
- What does God’s Word record about God’s heavenly breath? &
- How can we apply biblical teaching about breathing to our lives?
What does the Bible speak about breathing?
Breathing is a requirement for life, for without breathing, we will die. If you have ever witnessed someone struggling to find his next breath, then you know exactly as I do the intense stress that comes in watching that person strain to breathe. My husband tells the story of my brother-in-law who struggled to breathe one terrible day when they were both in a field where soybeans were being harvested. The dust from the combine was almost too much for this one, but thank God he lives today and was able to escape the fate of drawing his last breath.
BREATHING—IT’S PRECIOUS TO EACH ONE OF US, THE LIVING.
“Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones,
(The Book of Ezekiel 37: 5-6 NAS)
‘Behold, I will cause breath [spirit]
to enter you that you may come to life.
I will put sinews on you,
make flesh grow back on you,
cover you with skin
and put breath in you that you may come alive;
and you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”
These are the words the LORD spoke to His servant Ezekiel when a valley of dead, dry bones could be seen for as far as his eyes could see. The LORD raised an army that day, right there within the valley, where death first existed.
Ezekiel prophesied just as he was commissioned, and his ears heard a rattling such as only God could accomplish. The LORD rattled the bones, miraculously causing them to come together. Then the LORD allowed His prophet Ezekiel to see flesh grow as skin covered these newly formed bodies.
However, “there was no breath in them” (vs 8b).
“Then He said to me,
(The Book of Ezekiel 37: 9-10 NAS)
[the LORD said to Ezekiel]
“Prophesy to the breath,
prophesy, son of man,
and say to the breath,
‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“Come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.” ‘ “
So I prophesied as He commanded me,
and the breath came into them,
and they came to life and stood on their feet,
an exceedingly great army.”
May We—Inhale and Exhale the Precious Breath God provides each moment of every day.
What does God’s Word record about God’s heavenly breath?
Breathing is a requirement for life, for without breathing, we will never live. The man Job who was allowed to suffer more than imaginable and who endured all the temptations Satan brought to his life, said:
“The Spirit of God has made me,
(The Book of Job 33: 4 NAS)
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
& the Bible states that on the day with the LORD God created man:
“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground,
(Genesis 2: 7 NAS)
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living being.”
- Without God, there is no life.
- Without the LORD’S breath, man remains dust.
- Without the Spirit of God, eternal life remains lost.
Therefore, How can we apply biblical teaching about breathing to our spiritual lives?
Receiving God’s salvation is a requirement for eternal life, for without repentance of our sins & the LORD’S salvation, we will remain dead in our sin.
We will forevermore remain UN-ALIVE—THE WALKING DEAD.
When I first became a Believer, a Christ-follower, at the age of fifteen, my pastor led me in a discipleship class, one filled with discussion, Bible study, and Scripture memorization. The first passage I remember memorizing stays deep inside me still today.
“All Scripture is inspired by God
(The 2nd Letter of Paul to Timothy 3: 16-17 NAS)
[breathed by God]
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
so that the man of God may be adequate,
equipped for every good work.”
YOU, LORD, Are the Breath We Breathe
As we sit breathing in, breathing out, we realize WHO it is that gives us our next breath. Then as we walk within this single day, we also realize WHO it is that instructs us through HIS WORD as we go. So, we close our eyes and absorb HIS beauty surrounding us, sensing the calm peace the LORD’S presence brings, celebrating how HIS peace & HIS presence will last for eternity.
- We long for heaven, and we ache for those we love (who have not yet tasted of God’s salvation).
- We pray, exhaling our breath, asking God’s Holy Spirit to speak to them, to lead them to God’s Amazing Grace.
As one is ready to repent, to give his life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit prods the person on, speaking to his heart & leading him to receive Christ Jesus as his Savior.
- We breathe because of God.
- We exist because of God.
- We are created because of God.
- We worship because of God.
We long for YOU, GOD, for YOU are the Breath we Breathe.
Our very next & until our very last—BREATH—We breathe for YOU.