Tag: breath

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The breath of life

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the bible” thoughts from John 20.

It’s the evening of resurrection day when Jesus appears to all but one of the disciples in the locked upper room. Twice he said, “Peace be with you.” “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit'” (John 20:22).

This time around, I made the connection. At the very beginning, “the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7).

God shows Ezekiel a valley full of dry, lifeless bones and commands him to prophesy. Ezekiel does, and “the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10).

God’s breath gives life!

It’s that time of year when our neighborhood plays host to every imaginable Christmas lawn inflatable. They lie lifeless until someone plugs in the fan that breathes air into them. Santas, snowmen, penguins, the Grinch, and dogs in Santa hats all come to life!

  • New parents check on their sleeping infants, to make sure they’re breathing.
  • I’ve been in hospital rooms where the rhythmic sound of a ventilator reminded all of our mortality and the blessing of medical technology.
  • It doesn’t happen very often in Florida where I live, but on a cold day you can see your breath. A glimpse of the divine?
  • After a tough day of guarding the house, my dogs breathe very heavily on the love seat as they catch up on their sleep.
  • Every air mattress now comes with a built-in inflator, alleviating the need for lots of huffing and puffing before bedtime.

If I’m breathing, I’m alive. God gives me my first breath, blesses me with daily breath (ands bread), and will see me through my last breath in this world.

I’ve been there for some last breaths. I’ve been there when families have pulled the plug. I’ve been there in the hospice room waiting for that last breath. I’ve held my dogs as the vet put them to sleep and they took a last breath.

What a joy to know that God reverses that, and when we take our last breath here, we take our next with him!

Posted in 2022 Lent Devotions

Breathtaking

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Mirror of the Passion” Lent devotions for April 3, 2022. We will all have a moment like that, when body and soul separate.

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

If you’re a fan of Martin Luther’s morning and evening prayers, you’ve often prayed, “Into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.” Just like Jesus. It may or not be our final prayer, but it is a reassuring way to open our eyes first thing in the morning and close them before we fall asleep at night. Our lives are in his hands.

We will all have a moment like that, when body and soul separate. We may be awake and aware like Jesus. We may be asleep when that happens. It may happen suddenly, without warning. Family and friends may be gathered around us. Or we may be alone. We don’t know how or when, but we will all breathe our last.

I don’t remember my first breath, but I probably wasn’t very happy about it. Most of us let out a nice loud healthy cry when we are born. Our lives are filled with breathing from that moment on. We’ll take big breaths to blow up balloons, play musical instruments, and swim underwater. We’ll breathe in some wonderful smells along with some stinky odors. We’ll breathe heavily when walking up a flight of stairs or running around a track. We’ll take more than 672 million breaths in our lifetime. And one of them will be our last.

That’s a sobering truth. It’s also the reason Jesus took a first and last breath. He came to suffer and die for us. But his last breath wasn’t actually his last. On the third day his lungs again filled with air and he came back to life. He rose so that we, too, would breathe again, at the resurrection. And there will never be a last breath again!

How long can you hold your breath? Long enough to make your hiccups go away? Long enough to change a messy diaper? Long enough to swim an entire length of the pool? Long enough to drive all the way though a tunnel?

That’s a crazy way to think of death, isn’t it? It’s just like holding your breath until the trumpet sounds and Christ comes in glory to raise us from the dead. The glory of that day won’t take your breath away. It will give you new, eternal breath.

Into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.

Posted in Lent devotions, Stories

One last breath

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Scenes from the passion” Lent devotion for Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Photo by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash.

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. (Mark 15:37)

That moment after Jesus’ final shout and breath would have been the most profound silence the world has ever known.

How many mothers have peeked into the room where their children are sleeping, just to hear the sound of their breathing? Maybe you’ve woken up at night to listen your spouse breathing next to you. The rhythmic sound of my breathing syncs with my footsteps during an early morning run. When you’re playing hide and seek, it’s hard to breathe quietly and not give yourself away. Each year you have to take a bigger and bigger breath to blow out all those candles on your birthday cake! Sometimes we audibly sigh, releasing a breath of frustration or despair.

The first breaths of Jesus brought shepherd and wise men to see the Savior in Bethlehem. The heavy breaths of a sleeping Jesus in a small boat in a big storm were interrupted by the disciples who though they were going to die. A deep sigh from Jesus gave a man a chance to hear again. His breath equips his disciples for ongoing ministry.

What will we do without his breath?

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