Code blue! God’s cry to the breathless
Any time, ever, that you find yourself lying broken and spent, the Lord has a message for you. It’s his cry to wake you, and his promise to revive and restore.
Any time, ever, that you find yourself lying broken and spent, the Lord has a message for you. It’s his cry to wake you, and his promise to revive and restore.
Nine months ago, I did not see renovation in my future. Now, I’m neck deep in refreshing my website. And I’m marveling at God’s renewing work in our lives.
“I so want to be a woman of grace in all this!” she cried, through deep, wrenching sobs. In that holy moment, I heard the heartcry of one who overcomes.
God taught them not to be driven by panic. He showed them a completely different way. When our world has changed, their story from long ago can help us too.
When God’s people push against, instead of moving with, his Spirit, he knows the situation is dire. He sounds the alarm: My people aren’t breathing! Code blue!
When it comes to dealing with anything spirit, the church has a long history of ignoring, twisting, adding to and taking away from the truth that gives us rest.
When you earnestly seek to do what’s right, inside a system you do not recognize as broken, you’re asking to be blindsided. When you implicitly trust leaders who depend on the system for power, image and funds, you’re asking to be betrayed. Not seeing what you need to see, you won’t have a clue what’s going on.
As you inhale, you’re filled with breath. As you inhale spiritually, you’re filled with the Breath of God. Spirit-to-spirit, you receive his life.
In Scripture, God makes a direct connection between breath and spirit, and so, between the act of breathing and the act of relating to him. He shows us: As breath is to the body, being filled with the Spirit and living in the power of the Spirit are vital to life in Christ.
Most likely, none of us would choose brown and gray all year long. But if we don’t stop to appreciate what God has made beautiful in this time, we may get all our presents and miss all our moments.