Breath For The Day

AS YOU GET READY for the day ahead, you might already be exhausted thinking about all the things you need to accomplish. I want to give you some hope today—literally from the mouth of God.

Genesis 2:7 says, “The LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (NIV). Did you catch that? God’s own breath filled the body of a human being. I tend to dwell on the truth that we were born sinners and that when we become Christians, we invite the Holy Spirit to indwell us. Sometimes I have trouble getting my mind around the fact that there’s a supernatural force at work inside me. It’s true that the Holy Spirit comes in when we invite him into our hearts, but this account of Creation reminds us that God breathed life into people from the very beginning.

This truth brings comfort and strength to my physically weary bones. I feel like I stand a little taller knowing that I’m God-breathed. God didn’t just throw some sticks together to form man and woman. Sure, dirt and a rib were involved, but this creation wasn’t a living being until God breathed life into it. How energizing is that!

As you struggle with a body that’s weary from weathering pregnancies, a bad back from carrying babies, dry eyes from a lack of sleep, or tired knees from cleaning the floor, remember this: our human bodies began with the breath of God himself.

Just a few verses before the account of God breathing life into the first human, we read, “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, NIV). How can this fuel our bodies today? There are so many moments when we feel exhausted, but I believe there are even more moments—literally each new breath—when we can be refueled by the Lord. He offers us moment-by-moment strength.

I have a morning exercise that I like to do (although I don’t do it often enough). It’s a way to remember that I am not operating out of my own strength but out of the strength of Christ, who lives in me and has filled my lungs with breath. I lie flat on my back on the floor and picture Christ in my heart. Then I stretch out my limbs and visualize him flowing through every part of me. As I reach my fingertips, I picture his strength as I set out for the day. He’s in every step and every act of service I do with my hands.

In John Maxwell’s book No Limits, he talks about pushing past what we think are our limits. He shares this quote by a Navy SEAL: “When you think you’re done, you’re only at forty percent of what your body is capable of doing. That’s just the limit that we put on ourselves.” Maxwell asks, “What would happen if you assumed that you had at least 60 percent more capacity than you ever believed? . . . What if it’s not 60 percent? What if it’s only 40, or 25, or even 10 percent? Wouldn’t that still change your life?”^a Amen! I’m not banking on the official science of those percentages, but isn’t it super freeing to think that we have more capacity in reserves, y’all? As finite human beings, we will max out before we know it. But we can move past our perceived limits because of the limitless God whose very breath is in us.

I want to live in this zone of going beyond what I think I can do so that everything in me will be forced to cry out to God.

As you go about your day today, imagine yourself at the 40 percent line instead of being already past 100 percent. Remember that a limitless God is walking with you and is residing inside you.

ACTION STEP

Take three deep breaths. Picture the breath of God filling up your lungs and strengthening your body today, and walk tall in that truth.

PRAYER

Father, breathe your life into me today the way you did when you created the first people. I can’t live without you, Lord, and when I feel like I’ve hit the end of what I can do, let each breath I take remind me of your power alive in me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

MORNING QUESTIONS

TAKEAWAY TODAY | How close do you feel to capacity right now? Do you feel like you’re almost maxed out?

In what areas of your life do you need God’s strength most?

DREADING TODAY | Is there anything you’re dreading today?

REDEFINING TODAY | If so, what is another way you can view that thing you’re dreading?

ASKING GOD TODAY | What request are you bringing before the Lord today?

EVENING QUESTIONS

REFLECTION | Were there any moments when you sensed God’s breath filling you up and giving you energy when you needed it?

LITTLE VICTORIES | Where did you see God show up even in small ways, reminding you that you aren’t alone?

WHITE FLAG MOMENTS | When did you want to hide or escape today?

MEMORY OF THE DAY | What do you want to relish and thank God for?