From the Heartland
Every time I get ready for bed I am reminded of the importance of every breath I take. I have sleep apnea and use a BIPAP machine at night. The sleep apnea causes me to stop breathing in spurts without the assistance of the BIPAP machine. One of the nightly rituals is to fill its water tank with distilled water.
In the second creation story (Genesis 2:4-24), God forms Adam out of the dust of the earth. Unfortunately, the man has form but not life. It is not until God breaths into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life that he becomes a living person. Still today we talk about a new born baby taking its first breath and at the end of life taking its last breath. Our breath is a representation of the life force within us. Each of us has our own rhythm, our own way to sense the wave of breathing as it rises and falls within us.
Our breath also connects with the world in which we life. The molecules of the air that we breathe could well have traveled around the world and have been inhaled by millions of people. The oxygen we need to live comes from plants that have produced it from the carbon dioxide that we have expelled. The world in which we live is a living, breathing system that is interdependent on all the living beings of which it is composed.
One Hebrew word for “breath” is “ruach.” It can also mean “wind,” “spirit” or “air.” Not only does the breath of God give us physical life, God’s Spirit nourishes our spirit, our soul, the essence of who we are during our journey under the sun and after we finally breathe our last breath. There is a whole category of breathing exercises that are designed to get our spirit in tune with the spirit of the world in which we live and the very Spirit of God.
What has caused my attention now to be drawn to the breaths I take is the realization that every breath I take has become a possible source of danger and concern. The way I am most likely to contract Covid-19 is by breathing in the virus. That which God intended for good now has the possibility of being bad. Using the imagery of Paul in Romans, all of mankind is groaning under the weight of the curse of Covid-19 which has disrupted its interconnectedness.
The Book of Genesis opens with what might be described as a hurricane at sea at night. Into this chaos the breath (wind) of God brings order, structure and meaning. In our chaotic and troubled world we need the spirit of the living God to breathe on our world. Storms would seem to be brewing everywhere. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are not only material, they are spiritual, emotional and relational. The disruption that grips most of our attention is Covid-19 and its consequences. We ask ourselves “Will it never end?” “Will there ever be a return to normalcy?”
But even as we offer our prayers, we need to remember that we may very well be a part of God’s solution. We need to be sensitive to how the Spirit of the Living God is working through our lives to bring back order and structure to our daily living? Along with all of the dire news of our day, there are stories of people who have stepped up to the plate to help their neighbor, who have responded to challenges and who have gone the third and fourth miles.
God is ultimately in control. His Spirit is still moving across the face of the earth to bring His peace.