Breathe

"O Lord, I have come to You for protection.....Bend down and listen to me; rescue me quickly." Psalm 31:1-2...."In our deep pain, sorrow, and woundedness, we need to breathe out our pain to Him, and breathe in His healing word and presence." Sheri Rose Shepherd

The above quote from Shepherd reminds me of something I wrote down in my prayer journal many years ago. I don't remember the source of it, but I can never forget its power. It simply reads that in the midst of chaos, fear, pain, and heartbreak, and all that threatens to destroy us, we need to say, "Jesus is Lord....breathe in, breathe out." In the midst of life events that can literally take our breath away, we need to choose to be still before Him, and state the unchanging truth that in the midst of all of it, He is Lord. He reigns. He is conqueror. He is unchanging. In that place, we breathe out our pain, fear, anger, and sorrow. We breathe in His healing power and presence. We don't just speak and claim a Scriptural promise. We need to remember and have as our experience that His Word is a Living Word. Our situation and need is real. God is not offended by our pouring out our pain. He welcomes it. But that isn't where He will leave us. In our pouring out, He wants to pour in. Pour in His Truth, and pour in His Spirit. This brings strength where there is none. Hope when all hope seems gone. Joy and peace where both seemed to have disappeared. This is what we see modeled in the life of David.

David was a man after God's own heart, but all through the Psalms, we see a man who wasn't shy about telling God how much pain he was in, and his pain covered just about every aspect of what can go on in any of our lives. Yet, the place of pain was not able to hold him captive. In all of the Psalms we see the above process unfolding. He breathes out his need to his God, and he breathes in the Father's answer of new hope, new strength, new life. So many of his Psalms begin with what seems like despair, yet end on a renewed hope and trust in His God. Something mystical but real has taken place. David did more than just vent his frustrations. There is no power in that, yet that's as far as many of us ever get. He poured out His complaint, yet not in a carnal, fleshly way. He did so with the expectation and belief that as he emptied himself of these, the Father would then fill him with Himself. This is how the Lord ministers to us in our need. We pour our hearts out to Him, but we do so with the expectation that He will then pour Himself into us. How many of us actually have such an expectation? How much of our "prayer" with Him is just our ranting about how bad things are, and then going away still angry, upset, and disappointed? We didn't release these things to Him and so left that time the way we came. Indeed, we're worse off than before. Angrier, more frustrated, and lacking hope and healing.

Shepherd speaks from experience. She lost her marriage, contracted cancer and was told she had 8 weeks to live. She entered into a 4 year time period, the first part filled with anger, doubt, self-pity, and questions of whether He even loved her. Then she began to pour herself out to Him, all of herself, anger, doubt, all, and allowed Him to begin pouring Himself into her. The healing began. She is not cancer free, but she's alive, and filled to overflowing with His hope, joy, and peace. All the challenges remain, and the emotions that go with them. She has learned to abide in Him, to be still and know that He's God, and to live in that truth.....as she breathes out, and breathes in in all of it.....He calls you and me to the same. Wherever we are, in whatever we face, can we just speak this truth, "Jesus is Lord," and then, breathe out all that seeks to deny that, that we may then breathe in all of Himself that proves that it is true.

Blessings,
Pastor O