Take a Deep Breath
How many
times have we heard someone say in the midst of a difficult situation?
“Take
a deep breath.”
We Were Designed to Breathe
Breathing is vital for us to
live.
One of the
best-known verses in the Bible is Genesis 2:7,
This verse
sets a pattern for the rest of the Bible, where breath is often equated with
life itself.
Breathing also illustrates our human vulnerability and
complete dependence upon God. One easy experiment to show this is to try to
hold our breath. For most of us, lack of air becomes painful well within a
minute, and we would die in just a few more minutes if completely deprived of
air. So, our breathing apparatus is one of our most vital systems—absolutely
necessary to sustain us from moment to moment.
Breath of God: Able to Give Life or Take
it Away
God, the Giver of life (Genesis 2:7), has the right to end any life if and when
He chooses (Job 1:21), but man does not unless God grants it
to him (I Samuel 15:1-3).
In his hand is the life of every
creature and the breath of all mankind.(Job 12:10)
The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of
the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4)
It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due
time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes
upon them." (Deuteronomy 32:35)
The grass withers, the flower fades when the
breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:7)
Then that lawless one will be revealed whom
the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the
appearance of His coming; (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
"By the breath of God they perish, And
by the blast
of His anger they come to an end. (Job 4:9)
God holds our
future in His hands
And gives us every
breath;
Just knowing that
He’s by our side
Allays our fear of
death. —Sper
From our first breath to our last, we
are in God’s care.
The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God
"But it is a spirit in man, And the
breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. (Job 32:8)
Thus says God, the Lord, who created the
heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from
it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: Isaiah
42:5
So
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I
also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to
them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. (John
20:21-22)
"In Him we live and move and have our being."
I love the current praise song that says
"You are the air I breathe, Your holy Presence in me." We can
literally breathe in the Presence of God and be filled with the Holy Spirit
with our breath. How is this possible?
·
God is
spirit.
·
Spirit
is like wind or breath
·
Like the
wind, God can be heard but not seen.
o
He is
constantly speaking, both to the Creation which He made by His Word and to
people.
·
God has
made His Spirit available to live within us to guide us into all Truth (Jesus –
John 14:6)
·
God's
spirit (breath) was active in creation, and all things were created when God
spoke.
o
It is
spirit which is the real cause of all that is lasting. (Genesis 1:1-3, 1:26-27 & 2:7)
o
It is
the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. (The words that I speak
to you are spirit, and are life. John 6:63)
·
The
relationship between word and spirit: words express spirit, and spirit and its
expression are one.
o
Jesus is
the word of God and all things were created through him. John 1:1-3.
o
The
written word remains dead if not spoken -- i.e., given the breath of life --
physically or mentally. All words, even those of God, must be given life, given
voice before they can have any effect. (Compare, Genesis 1:26-27 with Genesis
2:7.) This is why a Bible sitting on a shelf has no effect, while it can bring
great light to one who reads it with understanding.
o
Scripture
spoken at the right time and in the right way has altered the course of
history.
·
The
world cannot understand spirit (breath of God) or the course of those who are
born of the Spirit of God.
o
God
created man with eternity in his heart, and men in the natural state still base
their lives on the inward premise that all things familiar (including their own
lives) will continue forever.
o
But, as
long as sin is present, this very assumption blinds those without spirit. Just
as we cannot understand the path of the wind, so the world cannot understand
the acts of God. (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
o
To the
man without the spirit, the things of the spirit appear foolish, and he cannot
understand them. (I Corinthians 2:14.) The things of God are spiritually
discerned -- i.e., spoken by the God who is spirit to the spirit within us. (I
Corinthians 2:9-16.)
o
Only
spirit understands spirit: for God is spirit.
Source
- http://christian-oneness.org/about-God/chapter4.html
God's
Spirit is the Key
Again He said to me, "Prophesy over
these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.'
"Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath 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.'" Ezekiel
37:4-14
God’s people are portrayed, in a vision
to Ezekiel, as dry bones in a valley. Death and hopelessness are characterized.
Then, as Ezekiel prophesies God’s word, the bones become living bodies that
stand on their feet and become an exceedingly great army as the breath of God
enters into them. Israel, which is hopeless and cut off, will be revived and
brought to life by God’s Spirit. Israel will go back to its own land and know
that God has spoken, and that He has done what He said He would do.
There is also a wider principle that
God can take a situation that is without human hope and, through His word and
Spirit, fill it with life, purpose and hope. Christian conversion is also
pictured in this vision of life from the dead.
With God's
spirit, there is life--and what Jesus called fullness of life. And there is no
place on earth, nowhere in time, and nowhere in sin or situation, that can keep
God's Spirit away from God's people (see Romans 8:31-38).
The song below is one of many favorite songs by Chris Tomlin...
"Awake My Soul"
"Breathe on me, breath of God, breathe on me
Breathe on me, breath of God, breathe on me
I come alive, I'm alive when you breathe on me
I come alive, I'm alive when you breathe on me"
Also, below is an awesome post written by Ann Voskamp on the subject of breathing.
Breathe on me, breath of God, breathe on me
I come alive, I'm alive when you breathe on me
I come alive, I'm alive when you breathe on me"
Also, below is an awesome post written by Ann Voskamp on the subject of breathing.
Every day, may we all seek to
"TAKE A DEEP BREATH".. and breathe in the breath of God!!!
Linking up at these blog hops:
Wow! What a thought provoking post! Sometimes its so easy to forget every breath we breathe comes from God. Thanks for reminding me of these great truths! Linking up below you at #coffeeforyourheart
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you stopped by, Rebekah, and have enjoyed reading my post. It was also a great reminder to me that He is always with us everytime we breathe!!
DeleteWow! What a thought provoking post! Sometimes its so easy to forget every breath we breathe comes from God. Thanks for reminding me of these great truths! Linking up below you at #coffeeforyourheart
ReplyDeleteI so glad I am your neighbor at SDG this week!
ReplyDeleteAwwwww....so am I, Elizabeth! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteWonderful words! He is as close as my breathing in and my breathing out.
ReplyDeleteThanx for visiting at Christ in Me.
Thanks for stopping by, Judy! God is so good! ;)
DeleteAnn, I've been thinking about the Spirit recently, too. Thanks for digging out all these Scriptures and weaving together the references to breathing and the wind and the Spirit.
ReplyDeleteyour neighbor at Lyli's link up