Gasping for air! I can still see the anxious faces of children with respiratory disease being rushed into my emergency department. Their fear-filled gazes expressed their urgent need for oxygen as they noisily labored to breathe. Often the quick application of a breathing mask, providing 100% oxygen, allowed for quieter less frenetic respirations. Oxygen – so taken for granted – when removed makes every breath a conscious labor filled activity.
As I look at my own spiritual life and the spiritual lives of those around me, anxious looks and labored “spiritual breathing” seem to be the norm. Yesterday a friend in the midst of financial crisis gave me a glimpse of a better way filled with confidence and hope. My friend was breathing the 100% spiritual oxygen of God’s presence, experienced in a prayer-filled attitude and refreshed with the precious Word of God. Trusting in God became easier as my friend breathed deeply in the Comforter. He reminded me of that old hymn,
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"Breathe on me breath of God, fill me with life anew". |
In emergency medicine when a crisis arises, I think of the ABC’s - checking the
Airway, Breathing and Circulation. When crisis comes to my life, I need to more quickly check my Spiritual ABC’s. Instead of filling my mind with anxious thoughts and troubled solutions, I need to check for my spiritual airway and breathe through prayer and meditation on God’s Word.
Will you help me adjust my spiritual oxygen mask this week?
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The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the
Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4 |
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