The Breath Of Life

Have you ever been to the ICU unit in a hospital? Perhaps a parent, child or even a dear friend has suffered a major heart attack or some terrible physical trauma. There are beepers, buzzers, and the rhythmic pumping of machines. Somehow these machines are helping to keep someone alive. Every heart attack patient has experienced the trauma of fighting for their very next breath.

Breath is precious. In everyday life, we don’t think about breathing. It is one of the involuntary attributes that God gives us. We take breathing for granted. That is, until our very next breath becomes a matter of life or death.

In 2 Kings 20, we read about Judah’s King Hezekiah. We know that he was “sick unto death.”  We aren’t told whether or not he was fighting for his next breath, but we are told he begged God for a few more years of life. He was granted his wish. He was allowed to live another 15 years. Scripture tells us that God formed man and “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7 KJV).  When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection He ”breathed on them” saying “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

These passages tell us that God is the life giver and that all life comes from Him …. both physical and spiritual. We live because He breathed the sacred breath of life into us. No, we were not formed from some ancient slime a million years ago. When we see the wonders of our bodies and how they are given to us for life in this world, we cannot help but to be amazed at the uniqueness of God’s creative powers.

Both the recovering ICU patient and King Hezekiah shared the privilege of another breath, and another opportunity to live for God. But we don’t have to wait for a critical illness or catastrophic event to appreciate life. Instead we can look around us and observe God’s unique creation. We can slowly inhale and exhale and we can be grateful.

We can be grateful knowing that every breath is precious because it represents the blessing of another moment. It is evidence of the gift of life from the Creator of life Himself (Acts 17:24-25; cf. Daniel 5:23). —Barbara Hyland

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets