As close as my own breath...

I heard a sister-in-the-Lord say once long ago: she prayed that God would be as close to her as her own breath. I've not forgotton these words over the years, as I wish that for myself - that God would be as close to me as my own breath...that I would FEEL Him and be aware of Him as I am my own breath!

I'm always a bit concientious about my breath. I keep peppermint gum nearby to cover the coffee breath that comes late in the morning. Who doesn't? The check-out lanes at any store are filled with all sorts of gum and mints to cover bad breath. Even Starbucks sells a breath-freshening mint. It's a part of life! In fact, I realized we've become so preoccupied with our breath when a friend offered me a mint one day. I paused, covered my mouth and said, "Do I need it?" She replied, "It's a mint, not a hint." Ok. Got it.

As I prepared for Sunday's teaching this week, I was again reminded of just how intimate breath is. This Sunday as the teacher's open God's Word and teach the children, the kids will learn that God breathed His own breath through the nostrils of Adam and brought him to life. Adam was just a life-less shape formed from the dust and mud of the ground, UNTIL God breathed life into Adam by breathing into Adams nostrils (Genesis 2:7). Using a Strong's Biblical dictionary, this verse can actually be read: "and Jehovah Elohim molded, as a potter, a human being from the powdered dust of the soil and puffed/inflated into his nose the puff or wind/vital breath of fresh, strong life and ruddy human being became a fresh, alive breathing creature." Wow! God's breath was so close to Adam it filled Adam's lungs and brought him to life. THAT's pretty close! It teaches me that only God's breath can bring to life those things that are life-less!

Read Ezekiel 37. Verse 5 says, "Thus says the LORD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live." And they did!

Jesus breathed. John 20:22, "And saying this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is given by God and through the Bible has been called by many names: Counselor, Living Water, and many more. To me, here in this passage, I see the Holy Spirit as being, or coming from, the Lord Jesus. He breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Now, the Holy Spirit didn't actually came into the disciples until Acts 2, but this act by the Lord Jesus Christ in John 20 shows me that God's breath equals the Holy Spirit. God's breath brought life to Adam. God's breath brought life to the dead, dry bones in Ezekiel. And God's breath brings life today, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Joyce Meyer says, "You may feel as if your life is no better than the dead, dry bones described by the prophet in Ezekiel 37:1-4. Your circumstances may be so dead that they stink. Your hope may seem lost, but God has a way out. As this passage continues, the prophet does as God instructs, and he sees God totally revive and bring breath and spirit back into what once were dead, dry bones (37:5-10). The same can happen to you. God can revive things that have been dry, brittle, and dead in your life."

As I am aware of my own breath, I pray that I also will be aware of God's breath - the Holy Spirit living within me. As I breathe each and every day, I pray that God will use me to be a source of life and encouragement to others who are hurting; to those who feel like the walking dead; to those who just are too tired, too weary, and too burdened by the trials and temptations of the world. May we all feel God's closeness, His breath, as close as our own breath.

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6