Breath of God
“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4
We want to receive the life of God and the benefits of the life of God. The “zoe” life of God is our salvation and our strength. It is what makes us complete in spirit and what restores us to completion in our flesh. We need God, who is our life. The word “breath,” in relation to life, is mentioned 71 times in the Word of God, in 21 different books. What can we learn from the LIFE of God being referred to as the breath of God?
One, the breath of God often refers to the spirit of a man or woman. When God created the first spirit as a human, God breathed into Adam, causing him to become a living being. For reference, one Hebrew word for breath is “ruah (Strongs 7307)” that is translated as breath, spirit, and wind. One of the definitions is “energy of life.” Another Hebrew word for breath is nsama (Strongs 5397), which is translated as spirit. When we look to receive the life of God, we must consider the spirit realm.
Two, in the same way that we require oxygen to live, we need God for everything pertaining to His life. When Adam turned away from God, he turned away from His life source. Jesus restored that relationship, but it can only be restored through us surrendering to His lordship. Jesus restored the position of right-standing with God, but to get the most of being one with Him and receive from His life, we must learn dependent living inside that union. This includes our trusting obedience.
Three, we must learn to honor and pursue the Holy Spirit. In John 20:22, Jesus breathed on His disciples, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Why breath on them? The Holy Spirit had not yet been sent from heaven. The Holy Spirit moves and God’s power flows. Jesus ministered to His disciples, imparting the anointing on them, by breathing on them. We need to learn to recognize and flow with the Holy Spirit. There are scriptures that tell us the Lord created the world with His breath, as well as with His words. He tells us to use our words. Did you know that our words make sound because our breath moves over our vocal chords? We must realize that to live and minister the life of God, our words from our spirit also have power.
To receive from the life of God, let’s be in a dependent union with God, pursue Him in the spirit, and flow with the Holy Spirit.
Application: Think about this: how long can you physically live without taking a breath? Not long. Take a breath, and tell the Lord how grateful you are for the life He has given you through the beauty of your surrender.