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The Power of the Breath of Life

TEXT: “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7).
 
The sun was bright and the day warm as mom herded us down to the edge of the water. She found a clear spot on the beach, spread her blanket and released us to play in the water with the caution, “Stay close to shore and be sure you can see me.”
 
I proceeded to dive into the waves, each wave picking me up and carrying me further down the beach. I saw a huge wave coming in and timed my jump perfectly. The water came crashing around me and then started pulling me from the shore. I was then hit by a second wave and pushed under the water. I held my breath and tried to touch the bottom so I could push off and reach the surface. There was no bottom!
 
I was being tossed head over heels and pushed down into a hole. I panicked. My lungs ached for air. I didn’t know what to do. I put my hands up.
 
Suddenly I felt it – a large hand held my wrist in a tight grip. I was being lifted out of the water. The man held me up until I gulped in fresh air. He then carried me to the shore, where I found mom sitting on the blanket.
 
If you have a breathing disorder, such as asthma, emphysema, cystic fibrosis or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), describe how it feels when you can’t draw your breath easily.
 
As oxygen-breathing creatures, breath is vitally important for us. However, we often take it for granted—until it is threatened, that is. In the same way, the Bible clearly shows a powerful connection between our breath—our life—and the Holy Spirit. In fact, the original Hebrew word for “breath” can also be translated as “wind” or “spirit.” Our breath, our very being, has its source in the Spirit of God.
 
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light” (Genesis 1:1-3).
 
Just as God molded and shaped the bodies of Adam and Eve from the ground, He wove our bodies together in our mother’s womb. The life we have is a precious gift from God.
 
What does it mean to you that the life we have is a precious gift from God?
 
What kinds of activities make you feel alive?
 
What are some great things you have seen people do with the gift of life God has given them?
 
What regrets do you have about the way you have used the life God gave you?
 
Our Lord Jesus Christ hung on the cross as our substitute, receiving in His body the punishment of God’s wrath for all our sins. Actually, death by crucifixion resulted by strangulation; the simple act of breathing—the horrific struggle to take in oxygen and stay alive—became excruciating. The typical cause of death in crucifixion was congestive heart failure. As breathing became constricted, fluids built up in the victim’s lungs until he was no longer able to draw breath. One of the things that startled the centurion overseeing Jesus’ crucifixion was the unnatural way He died.
 
“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit!’ And having said this He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46).
 
Jesus’ loud voice indicated He still had clear lungs and a strong breath when He died. As Jesus had said before, He laid down His life and no one took it from Him (see John 10:17-18). And on the third day He took up that life and breath again. In fact, when He met His disciples that evening, after giving them His peace, “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22). He gave them His life as their own.
 
All our life, our energy, our strength, our creativity—in a word, our breath—is a gift from God. But because of sin in our world, our life is a temporary gift. The time will come when the God who created our bodies and breathed His breath into them, will take our breath away, as well as the breath of every living creature on this earth.
 
“These all look to You, to give them their food in due season. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are filled with good things. When You hide Your face, they are dismayed; when You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the ground” (Psalm 104:27-30).
 
As your body continues to age, what has shown you this life will not last forever?
 
But the removal of our breath in death is only temporary too. As Jesus told Martha shortly before He raised her brother Lazarus to life, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25b-26a).
 
THE PRAYER: Lord God, we thank You for the life and breath You have given us. For Jesus’ sake forgive all the times we misuse this body and life. When we face our mortality and our coming death, comfort and encourage us by Jesus’ resurrection, which foreshadows our own. We pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.


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