One of the most fearful events I ever experienced in my life happened when I was 10 years old. I was at the city pool with the rest of the kids from the Boys and Girls Club of San Benito. Boys like to mess around and one of the things that would stop me in my tracks was being at or near the deeper part of the pool. So long as I could touch bottom or hang on to the edge of the pool I was fine. But one day a kid playfully shoved me and I fell into water that was deeper than my height. I began to flail and grasp for any help and mostly to breathe. Panic filled my mind that I will run out of air and die.
I was inspired for this by reading a caption on a t-shirt that declared “I cannot breathe”. These were the last words spoken by George Floyd. Immediately the Holy Spirit gripped my heart with how many millions and even billions of people cannot breathe. Mankind is slowing sinking into the pool of life and sin. Precious air is being starved from their bodies. Lungs are burning; they are screaming for fresh air. The Apostle Paul declared in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Even though he was saved, loved Jesus, and all that; even he too understood his need and dependence upon God. That even as Christians, if we are not careful, can allow our lives to become complacent and apathetic to not only our need to breathe but we can neglect the cries of the billions drowning.
God established a uniqueness with Man. Regardless of scientists who declare that humans are no different than dogs, pigs, or monkeys; the Bible declares in Genesis 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” That is extremely significant because nowhere else in the creation story does it ever mention God breathed into anyone or anything. God spoke and established and that was it. But with Man, God took His time in the creation. He formed all of the capabilities and limitations of man with His delicate fingers. But it was not enough that a body was formed—despite was Planned Parenthood says about babies being just blobs of tissue—but that this body needed life. The only way that Man would ever have life and be anything that God designed, ordained, and promised required His breath.
2 Kings 4 tells a number of amazing events but one in particular was a Shunamite married woman. She had no son and her and her husband were advanced in age. What is significant about this woman is that her heart was in the right place. Every time the man of God would come to the area to preach, she would provide food and lodging. Eventually her and her husband prepared even a room that was to be his base camp when he was in the area. There is an importance about that in the giving sense but I will skip that for this writing. But she gave out of a heart of gratitude toward God and a heart of faithfulness (this does not exempt her husband from anything or that he didn’t have a heart toward God, but the story focuses more on the woman). God spoke through Elisha that they would bear a child. This child was to be a legacy to all that God did and provided. Just like Isaac in Genesis and John the Baptist in the New Testament, this child would be a living testimony of God’s favor and providence. Tragedy struck and this child or young man is working and has a brain aneurism. He died in his mother’s arms. Elisha is called and is joined by his disciple Gehazi. Gehazi’s lack of faith pushed away the woman—again, another message on that all together—but Elisha went in and laid upon the child and put his mouth to his mouth. Regardless of this being considered the first CPR performance, this child had already been dead for quite some time, perhaps even days. Elisha breathed faith-filled breaths into this child and eventually the child became alive. From that day on this child as he grew to become a man declared everywhere what God did to not only give birth to his aged parents a promised child but resurrect that child from the dead. He, like we, need God’s resurrecting breath in our bodies.
Ezekiel 37 provides a powerful story of a valley of dry bones. The prophet is called upon to command the four winds and the army became alive as breath entered their bodies. Our lives, our destinies, our families, our finances, our ministries, our churches may exhibit a valley of dry bones. There may not be life. There may not be hope. There may not be answers. But can a man of God, a woman of God, or even God Himself breathe upon whoever or whatever and it come alive out of hopelessness? Romans 4:17 encourages us with, “…who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did”.
Jesus resurrected from the dead. He spent much time during His forty days showing and teaching boldly the things of God. During this time, recorded in John 20, Jesus declared and did, “’Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:21-22). Without the Holy Spirit breathing and flowing in our lives, we cannot accomplish much for the Kingdom of God.
Many people are crying out and declaring “I cannot breathe” in unison and solidarity with this slain man. And that is true. We are all grasping for His breath of life and the Holy Spirit. Will be filled with Jesus?