VALUE YOUR BREATH

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord… – Psalm 150:6

The first man was a product of the Breath of the Almighty God: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH of LIFE; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). That eternal Breath of Life transformed a handful of dirt and dust into a living, breathing human being with the capacity to think, feel, dream, imagine, relate, reproduce, love and live forever!

Scripture declares: For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also His offspring (Acts 17:28). Outside of Him, there is absolutely no life! When He withdraws His breath, only a hollow bag of dust remains (Psalm 104: 29). He is the One “In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10). That was why the youthful Elihu testified before Job and three elderly friends: “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4).

There is an irony about this divine Breath: the same breath that gave life to the mould of earthen clay is powerful and terrible enough to unveil the channels of the sea and the foundations of the earth. “And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils” (2 Samuel 22:16; Psalm 18:15). Even the vast array of the heavens derived from “the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6).

When God breathed into Adam’s frame of clay, He not only released Life, He imparted a reason and motive to live: Praise! Worship! As the Psalmist declared: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6). This simply means that: the human breath is ultimately meant for God’s Praise and to offer Him Worship!

VALUE YOUR BREATH! Never forget: Your breath is first and foremost meant for His Praise! Knowing this, you’ll desist from wasting your breath on whatever would not honour or glorify God. You’ll refuse to breathe out anger, cruelty and violence. You’ll rather use your breath productively and positively to honour your Creator and Maker through your unique array of abilities, potentials, opportunities, and talents.

You can productively engage your God-given breath to release words of comfort and encouragement into the lives of others, sing songs of praise, and make sweet melody to the Lord. You must employ your breath to patiently run the race that is set before you, and to impact earthly territories with heavenly visions. Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD (Psalm 150:6).