Swimming Lessons.

My body was not made for water. When floods come, I will sink. Only that deep breath of buoyant air pulls me up to the surface. Only that deep breath of God keeps me from sinking. 

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

We were created to be God breathed.

⁴ The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33)

It was by His breath all creation was formed, all life born. By His breath we are filled with spirit; by His blood we are saved, we, who took breath from Him as He hung. His dying breath filled us for all of eternity.

²⁴ “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. ²⁶ And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…” (Acts 17)

Days when the hurting festers, when all you can do is force air slowly in and out of your lungs— just breathe. Breathe Him.

⁵ Thus says God the Lord,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
⁷ To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
⁸ I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.

(Isaiah 42)

May the only death I feel, be in my flesh, my sin, the pain of dying to self. May my life be filled, fully alive with His breath, filled with the Spirit He breathed into me. There is no death in Him. And if He has given me breath, may I speak, or write, or live, all in praise of Him.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! (Psalms 150:6)

And so this morning, as the Son has washed away the yesterday, birthed a new day, I breathe Him in deeply. And I do not sink.

Together in Grace,

Amy

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. (Isaiah 43)

  

²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20)

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