BREATHING THRU THE FIRE
BREATHING THROUGH THE FIRE
In your life, have you ever experienced trying to breathe thru the fire? I have many times when the trials of this life have seemed to smother me and I feel like I can’t breathe. Times when I have felt like something was at the top of my head and down all the way to the bottom of my feet, trying to squeeze the very breath from my lungs.
Our life is in our ability to breathe. Human beings are merely a piece of clay of the earth without that breath. But the life comes when God breathes into the nostrils of the human. God did it directly and personally. Genesis 2:7 reads “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 being.” When we don’t have those lifesaving breaths, we will die. Psalm 104:29b reads “…You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.”
We start out our lives, when we come out of our mother’s womb and we take our very first breath of air, which fills our lungs and we cry. We don’t have to think about breathing. It is automatic-constant-always a part of life. I have a touch of asthma and especially during our humid days in the summer, I have trouble breathing, trouble physically getting that full breath of life. I use an inhaler during those times and I can get a full breath of air again.
Mentally and spiritually, I have also had trouble breathing-many times when I have been through the “fires” of this life. One example was when my husband had been in the hospital so many times (sometimes 2 to 3 times a month), that the medical bills just piled up and we got behind on our mortgage. We ended up losing our home to foreclosure. We had to go downtown Kansas City to the courthouse. Our oldest son took us there, because driving downtown is stressful for me and he wanted to be our support system that day. We sat in a room with our lawyer, with so many others whose dreams had been shattered. When they called our names, I remember standing up and it felt like I was walking on coals of fire. That “fire” felt like it was going to smother me. It was hard to breathe. This is not what I had envisioned for our future! We had lived in that home many years. We had spent holidays with family and friends. We had brought home our daughter from the hospital in this home. We had parties where there was much laughter. We had experienced much joy in that home, as well as much heartache. Where were we going to go? What were we going to do? It was so embarrassing! How had our lives come to this moment in time? How was I going to get that crushing feeling-the feeling of the breath being sucked out of my lungs, out of my heart and my life? Well, you know the answer to those questions! God led us to our future. There are so many examples of God working in our lives during that time. Some, that are only a God thing. There are no explanations but that God was at work in our lives for a better future. He knew what we would face in the future and He orchestrated so much during that painful time; during the time I felt like I was trying to breathe through the fire.
There is a song by Jordan St. Cyr called “FIRE.” It speaks to my heart when hard trials come! These are the lyrics.
“I remember how You told me that life may not be easy and everything that I need you’ve already given me. I remember how You told me I can trust You completely, so why am I doubting when You proved that You’d fight for me. (chorus) -You’ve walked me through fires pulled me from flames. If You’re in this with me, I won’t be afraid. When the smoke billows higher, oh and higher and it feels like I can barely breathe, I’ll walk through these fires ‘cause You’re walking with me.- I’m changed by Your mercy, covered by Your peace, I’m living out the victory, doesn’t mean I won’t feel the heat. (chorus) I can face anything ‘cause You’re here with me. I can do all things ‘cause You strengthen me. I remember how You showed me the price of my redemption Lord, how could I question when You proved that You’d die for me. (chorus)”
Physically, we have medication to help us breath when breathing is so difficult. Mentally and spiritually, we also have “heavenly medication” to help us take those hard breaths when we are in the middle of this earth’s trials of fire. We are never told we will be saved from the trials, but rather God will be by our side helping us to maneuver through them. Isaiah 43:1-3a reads “…thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”
Read the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in Daniel 3. What an amazing example of God taking care of three men who had been thrown into an actual furnace of fire, because they did not bow down to the king. In verse 25 of that chapter, king Nebuchadnezzar said “Look!…I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” God has all power! If He can be by three young men, who were serving Him, who had been thrown into an actual inferno, He can take care of us also! He is always by our side, helping us to breathe through our fiery trials.
The next time you feel like the fiery trials of this life are taking your very breath away, remember God is by your side and He will guide your steps. I am so thankful that I am a daughter of the King, Who will be by my side and guide my steps!
When you are trying to breathe through the fire, take a deep cleansing breath. Fill your lungs with the breath that flows from the One who created you and called you good from the very beginning of time! Trust in the very One who actually breathed life into your lungs!
Till next time!
Keela