Today, Selwyn asks us to think about “some of the properties of breath which remind us of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. First, breath vitalises. We can’t live without breathing.”
He goes on to say: “All around God’s breath is blowing, but as I said yesterday, we act as if our spiritual lungs are paralysed. Can it be that many in the Church suffer from spiritual sickness – from spiritual poliomyelitis? We need to learn to breathe spiritually as easily as we breathe naturally. Then, and only then, will we be given the ability to do powerful things for God.”
As I implied recently, I don’t think that we breathe spritually, in our day to day lives, because we don’t call on God – we don’t talk to God and we don’t ask for His power in our lives because of the emphasis on self-sufficiency in the western world. We depend on family, government and social support structures first; and, then when all else fails, we turn to God. It’s not a natural part of every day life, to walk through the day, holding God’s hand. Therefore our spiritual breathing is rarely exercised and as a consequence we often fall short of our spiritual goals – because we are ‘out-of-breath’! Do you agree?Â
How should we correct this situation?
Spiritual poliomyelitis
Today, Selwyn asks us to think about “some of the properties of breath which remind us of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. First, breath vitalises. We can’t live without breathing.”
He goes on to say: “All around God’s breath is blowing, but as I said yesterday, we act as if our spiritual lungs are paralysed. Can it be that many in the Church suffer from spiritual sickness – from spiritual poliomyelitis? We need to learn to breathe spiritually as easily as we breathe naturally. Then, and only then, will we be given the ability to do powerful things for God.”
As I implied recently, I don’t think that we breathe spritually, in our day to day lives, because we don’t call on God – we don’t talk to God and we don’t ask for His power in our lives because of the emphasis on self-sufficiency in the western world. We depend on family, government and social support structures first; and, then when all else fails, we turn to God. It’s not a natural part of every day life, to walk through the day, holding God’s hand. Therefore our spiritual breathing is rarely exercised and as a consequence we often fall short of our spiritual goals – because we are ‘out-of-breath’! Do you agree?Â
How should we correct this situation?