“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!”

Psalm 150:6 NIV

Breathing is something our bodies do, thankfully, without us having to think about it. It is a system our bodies instinctively know how to run. It is preprogrammed and hard-wired into our being. But where does this information come from? As Christians we know that it was a thoughtful part of our design by a loving Creator….the one and only Creator of life itself. Even though this is something we don’t need to think about because it’s automatic, I think there are deep, rich truths to be known after some exploration through scripture regarding the significance of breath.

“Then 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 ESV

Our breath came from God. It was passed from His own breath and being into ours. Or said another way, we were created from the breath of God. 

Then we forsook the breath of God when we sinned in the garden, for in that sin it was written that death would now follow. Life was designed perfectly and it was made to last for all eternity. Thankfully, through another breath of God, Jesus, we were gifted eternal life once again. God must really love us to go so far to ensure we still get to spend forever with Him. And that wasn’t the only gift God had in mind in redeeming us! 

“And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

John 20:22 ESV

The Holy Spirit was another gift that was breathed on us. Jesus breathed on the disciples and all of us receive that same gift when we believe in Christ’s death and resurrection. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to equip us for His good works and for spreading the good news of Jesus. The Holy Spirit had been at work already, but now we have full access and power at all times through Him!

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

Genesis 1:27 ESV

Besides having the breath of God in us and The Holy Spirit living inside us, we are also created in the image of God. This is the most unique thing about us! It separates us from the rest of all other created things. Plants, animals, and angels are all created but they were not made in the image of God. This is another wonderful truth of how our Father in Heaven sees us and how much He delights in us!

Remember as you go about your day today, breathing in and out, in and out with ease, that you're breathing the breath of God. A God who never wants a single breath you breathe to be without Him…because THAT is how much He loves you! 

“Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it.”

Isaiah 42:5 ESV

- Jessica Ritchie