“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Psalm 150:6
Nurses are always surprised when I give them my list of medications whenever I go to the doctor. Why? Because my list consists of a few natural supplements and nothing more. Overall I’m a very healthy person. Recently, however, I’ve had a little hiccup, or mini crisis, where my health is concerned. I say mini crisis because for someone who has struggled with their thoughts, to find themselves all of a sudden having a difficult time taking a deep breath throughout the day, what might be a small blip that needs to be ironed out can quickly grow into a full-blown panic attack.
“Just relax and take a deep breath.” Right. That doesn’t work when the whole reason for the attack is that you can’t take a deep breath. After some testing I was put on an “as needed” inhaler for “environmental” reactions. Whatever that means. And being someone who can’t think on the spot, I did not have many questions for the doctor when she called me with the results. I was just so relieved to hear I didn’t have lung cancer and that it wasn’t anything structural, (I know, I’m a bit over the top), that I neglected to put on my common sense hat.
Since then things have gotten sorted out (for the most part), but through it God showed me something amazing. (Why is it that we usually learn the greatest lessons from such difficult trials?) One Sunday in church during my struggle we sang a song, Great Are You Lord. It contains a verse that says, “it’s Your breath, in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to You.” That’s when it struck me. God is breathing His own breath into my lungs, not my own! A week or so after that revelation was when the first panic attack struck. I had been having difficulty breathing and the panic attack didn’t help. God reminded me of the words to that song and I started to pray that He would breathe his breath into and through my lungs. As I meditated on that prayer, it didn’t take long for my body to respond to my confession!
Does It Matter What We Think? How often do you take time to stop and just praise God for who He is and thank Him for all He has done? Maybe you believe in a God but have never thought about thanking Him for creating this beautiful earth for you to enjoy. For me, that’s something I’ve been consciously working on. As the days went by, God continued to show me things through this experience. My thoughts kept reverting back to the song we sang, and I realized that because I have God’s breath in my lungs, I can praise Him and thank Him. And in fact, I need to. It’s time to stop using my breath to speak negative thoughts and fears—in other words, “stinky breath,” and start acting obedient to the Psalm, “let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” I am filled with joy and love as I focus on praising Him and breathing His breath into my lungs.
Has there been a song that’s had a similar impact on your life? I’d love to hear about it!
Σχόλια