Our Breath of Life

I am so glad you are with me today. friend, has anyone ever told you to just “take a breath?” My wife and kids certainly have! My breathing is a dead give-away when it comes to my stress level. My wife Laurel will often say, “You think you are calm but your breathing is telling me a different story. Take a breath!” In other words, just relax!

I have found in my own life that when worries overwhelm me, my heart rate goes up, my mind spins out of control and my breathing increases. It’s not a good place to be and in those moments, hope seems to have disappeared.  

friend, what if we learned to just breathe! In my last “A Miracle Every Day” series, I wrote about the sacred names of God. Did you know that one of the Old Testament names of God was so holy that God’s chosen people would not say it aloud because it was TOO sacred? I love that they had so much respect for the Name of God! Truthfully, they would not say it, but they would BREATHE it.  

Did you know that the consonants used in the spelling of the sacred name YAHWEH are in fact, the only consonants that, if correctly pronounced, do not require you to use your tongue or close your lips? In fact, we know that the pronouncing of the SACRED NAME was an attempt to imitate breath. It was a picture of inhalation and exhalation. Would you try it with me? Inhale the “YAH” and exhale the “WEH” (pronounced WAY). Again, inhale “YAH” and exhale the “WEH”. You can do all of this without moving your lips or using your tongue. It’s all in your breath! Isn’t it amazing that Jesus is the breath of life?

As you breathe, I want to remind you that you are not in charge of whether or not you are breathing...God is! God is the author of every breath, so breathing His name is a reminder to us of all that HE IS all powerful, all holy, all knowing, and all present. He is the breath of life...YAHWEH. 

Now, listen these amazing Scriptures:

“And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” (Acts 17:25) 

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4, NIV) 

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” (Psalm 33:6, NIV) 

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:22, NIV)  

friend, your lungs are filled with the breath of God. Breathe deeply.  

We have come so far together. In learning how to fill our hearts with hope, we are becoming HOPE-FULL!!

Never forget my friend...

You are a miracle!