Breathe // Job 33:4

My dad would usually encourage me to slow down and take a deep breath whenever I would get anxious. That happened a lot as you might imagine. There is a lot in our breathing that gives life and helps to bring stability when we feel off kilter. This is one of the main reasons we come to experience the Holy Spirit as the breath of God. As our verse for today reveals from Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” One of the things I find so cool comes in the name of God that was revealed to Moses at the burning bush. God told Moses His name is, “I AM that I AM,” or Yahweh in Hebrew. God’s name essentially means, life, as we acknowledge that God is and always will be. Taking it a step farther, Jewish tradition holds that Yahweh is breath itself! Therefore, when we breathe deeply, we are calling on the name of the LORD! God’s very breath gives and sustains life with every inhale and exhale. If you find yourself full of angst today, follow my dad’s advice take a deep breath. The very act of breathing draws in Spirit so you can expel the stress that wants to rob life from you. God made you, breathed life into you, and keeps you alive with the very act of respiration. May that stoke your spiritual life today. So, breathe, my friends, breathe.