Breathe
It was like a kick in the gut. Have you heard that phrase before? A lot of times we will use that phrase to talk about something that happened in our lives that really just hit us so deeply, with such a hard impact on our lives that it took our breath away. You know that experience? This week, I’ve talked with a few folks who have had that kick in the gut through a health diagnosis, through the loss of a loved one, through ongoing struggles financially.
It’s like a kick in the gut. You know, when we look at the Bible, Job was experiencing something very similar, and if he was using modern day vernacular, he would have said, “It’s like a kick in the gut.” In fact, what he actually said was that “God’s allowed these things, He’s taken my breath away. He will not allow me to breathe.”
That’s what Job’s experience was, and that’s what he was feeling. It’s common that when we experience that kick in the gut in life, sometimes we can feel the same way. But here’s the good news about Jesus: whenever we are losing our breath and we’ve lost it and we’ve gotten that kick in the gut, one of the things that we know is that we see in Jesus this breath of life, this refreshment, this renewal, this strength.
He talks about it throughout Scripture when He talks about the wings of an eagle who will rise up on the winds that He supplies. But perhaps one of the most significant times when we think about getting our breath back is when the Prophet Ezekiel is prophesying over a bunch of dry bones. And as he’s prophesying over those dry bones, he tells those dry bones what God said, and he says, “I will put skin and muscles on you and I will breathe into you and you will come to life.”
Maybe that’s what you need today. I want you to know that Jesus is coming to you right now and He wants to breathe life into you.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we know that so many times in this world, we get that kick in the gut. And a lot of times, Lord, it just really takes our breath away, and it’s hard to breathe, it’s hard to function, it’s hard to think, it’s hard to trust you. And yet the good news that you bring to us today is that you come to bring life, and that life is through this breath that you breathe into us.
And so would you breathe that life that every single person hearing this needs right now? Give us that strength, lift us up and raise us up on Wings of Eagles, that we would soar like those eagles, that we would be able to walk and not grow weary, that we would be able to not be afraid, but Heavenly Father, that we would trust in you. And Jesus, we thank you for the breath of your Holy Spirit that you give to us this day. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
I have always enjoyed the LCC devotions. Rev Chris Singer has has continued the devotions well. Having the video has been a good change. (Yes, I am a Lutheran and I do like positive change!) I do not know if this is an oversight but I was disappointed to see today’s devotion with out a main Bible verse at the top. Maybe a verse from Acts 2 (breath of the Holy Spirit) would work? I also did not see Bible references in parenthesis to Job, Psalms or Ezekiel in the body of the devotion. I like those and believe them to be spiritually beneficial. On that note, wouldn’t it be wonderful if one could click on the references and go to an online Bible and maybe even more in depth background to the verse like in a “study Bible”. I don’t have any expertise in this area. However, I’d donate towards this. Just an idea. Thanks for reading!