AtomTake Time to Breathe the Spirit
Over Coffee…
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble…
Be still and know…” Psalm 46
As I write this, I am having morning coffee at 9,000 feet above sea level, high enough that when I am exerting myself, my lungs (and my whole body) clamor for more oxygen. It is a reminder of something I often take for granted: the mechanics of the body with which God has gifted me that goes about much of its business without me being aware of it. I can usually go through my days in Detroit Lakes – working, tending my lawn, engaging my family in conversation – without thinking much about breathing and I get along just fine. But here where the oxygen is less plentiful and my body has to work harder for it I am reminded of how necessary breathing is!
This may be a bit like the way we approach our relationship with our God. Most of us can slip through our day without much thought of God – going to work, tending our lawns or homes, engaging our spouses or children in conversation – and get along just fine. But when our lives come under stress or we are seeking direction and meaning in life, we are reminded of how necessary such a connection with our God is.
Of course that relationship – knowing God’s love and Christ’s forgiveness and the Spirit’s encouragement – is not just for stressful times, just as breathing is not just for times of extreme exercise. It is for each and every day. It is just so easy to be busy with the life gifted to us by breathing and by God that we take it for granted. Sometimes we need little reminders…
This annual trip to Colorado is one of those reminders for me…not only of my need to breathe, but also of my life as a child of God and as a follower of Jesus. That life is there every day, to be sure, but it can be so much a part of work and the preparation and discipline of serving the church and responding to the needs of the congregation and community that I forget it is also personal…for me. Here God reminds me…in the startling grandeur of the mountains…where breathing is tested…where a community of pastors and their families gather to breathe deeply of the Spirit…where God sends teachers and leaders to fill our cups. Here I am reminded of what I have received and of that which gives me life. I thank First Lutheran for providing me the opportunity of such regular, refreshing times to breathe the Spirit.
Of course I know I can access this same Spirit any time and any place day by day. As do you. But sometimes a retreat away from the activity of regular life helps…a Bible Camp experience, a Men in Boats weekend, a Women of the Church Conference…a week at the lake. To that end, I pray that summer may afford you an intentional time away to pause and breathe the Spirit in a life-altering, life-refreshing way. Don’t let your vacation or “time away” be just another busy time in a different place. Take some intentional time to breathe deeply of the gift God offers… as you read God’s Word…as you worship and pray…as you sip your coffee on the patio or the dock at the beginning or the end of the day. “Be still [listen…pause] and know that I am God.”
Resting in God’s presence,
Pastor Wade
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