In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6 but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
-Genesis 2:4-7, NRSV
I don’t often think about breathing. Why would I? Breathing is automatic, right? Unconscious. Reflexive. My body breathes regardless of whether I think about breathing.
But lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about breathing. Lately, I’ve been thinking about breath.
Maybe it’s COVID-19. We’ve all heard the listing of symptoms, right? Those all-too-familiar symptoms: Fever. Cough. Shortness of breath.
Breath.
Or maybe it’s something else. Maybe it’s George Floyd. Maybe it’s the words have tragically become all too familiar, too. “I can’t breathe.”
Breath.
Then, maybe it’s the scriptures. As Genesis tells it, “the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7, NRSV).
Breath. Life.
If this breath within me is a gift of life, may I use it to speak life-giving words… words of compassion, words of justice, words of life.
Breathe in, breathe out, and remember:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
