Breathe deep the breath of God
Have you ever felt like you couldn’t catch your breath?
Have you ever had the air knocked out of you? Maybe you were somehow stuck under water just a second too long? If you’ve ever had any experience with this, then you know HOW IMPORTANT air is. And as soon as you’re able to breathe again, all you want to do is stop & catch your breath.
Some of us feel this way right now because life is crazy, things are spinning out of control, we feel like everything is changing & things are moving at the speed of light & all we want, all we really want is for everything to just slow down for one moment so we can catch our breath. Regroup. Recharge. And breathe.
We know how important it is to slow down & breathe. But sometimes, we forget how essential it is.
In the same way, I think too many of us take the WORD OF GOD for granted. This is God’s breath on a page. And it’s collecting dust on our bookshelves.
But we know that the word of God is alive & active. It’s unlike any other book you will ever read. There is no other book that has the literal power to transform your life from the inside out. I can’t explain it but I can’t deny it. This book has that power. But you have to sit with it. You have to breathe it in deeply. And you have to allow it to work over time.
God’s Word is God’s breath on a page.
Paul once wrote that scripture is God’s breath on a page. He said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed…”
If scripture is God’s breath on a page, then we need to breathe deeply the words of God into our lungs.
Airplane Mode
Have you ever been on an airplane, & before you take off they give you the whole demonstration of what to do in case of an emergency? If you’ve flown more than once, this is the moment your checking your email one last time, you’re texting your friends or family that you’re about to take off, your checking twitter one last time before you have to put your phone in airplane mode, you’re doing anything & everything but paying attention to the flight attendant who is giving you the instructions that could actually save your life in the rare event something bad happened.
If you’ve ever seen this demonstration then you’ve probably noticed like I have that they always say the same thing about the oxygen masks. They always tell you to put on your oxygen mask first, then help the person next to you.
Why?
Because if you can’t breathe then you can’t help the person next to you breathe.
But, it’s important to remember that after you have secured the mask to your face & you can breathe — to then HELP the person next to you.
For many of us, we’ve found the breath of God. We’ve breathed it in deeply. There was even a time when we were super excited & passionate about it. We were “on fire for God.” And at that time, we were going around to every person we could find on the plane, in our sphere of influence, & we were trying to give them the same oxygen mask we had found!
But just like that plane, we’ve heard the speech a thousand times now. We’ve seen the demonstration. We know what the oxygen mask looks like but we’re not excited about it anymore. We’re not even sure if we need it. Nothing bad like that has ever happened to us. And we’ve lost all enthusiasm for it. We’ve lost any desire we once had to share it.
In fact, here’s what’s happened, we’re apathetic to the point now that we see people struggling in the world around us… at school, at work, at the grocery store, & we know where the oxygen mask is, but we don’t even say anything.
We think, if they need something, they’ll ask. It’s none of my business. It’s not my place. Or, it’s their own fault they can’t breathe. If they hadn’t done what they did, they could breathe just fine. It’s their own fault their plane is crashing, & it’s not my job to help them.
You & I HAVE the GOSPEL. We have this BREATH in our lungs. It’s time to share this gospel with those around us. We can’t wait. It’s urgent. We have to help people breathe!
But you can’t help the person next to you breathe if you can’t breathe.
So breathe deeply the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Remember that you were lost, but now you’re found. Remember you were dead, now you’re alive. Remember that change is never easy, but it is always necessary. Remember that we have a responsibility to seek & save the lost with this same gospel that sought us & saved us. Remember that it’s not enough to keep this to ourselves, we have to share it!
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I serve as the Co-Senior Minister at First Colony Church of Christ in Sugar Land, TX. I enjoy sports, running, fishing & life with the family. I’ve been in ministry since 1999. My wife Alisha & I have three amazing children, Will, Ella Grace & Emma Love. Thank you for stopping by my website!
