Inhale

"...Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries." Psalm 135:7

I just returned from vacationing upnorth and the one thing I always notice up there is the fresh air. My entire body is refreshed just by breathing. I often bring back rocks or other little treasures when I leave, but one thing I cannot bring back is the air. If you want to breathe the air in a region you have to go there. However, you can breathe the air and then breathe out the refreshment you receive in other ways. You can breathe out words--spoken or written. You might even breathe out that refreshment in the form of art--an inspired dance, painting, sculpture, song or even a culinary creation. Your life and your work can become revitalized by going someplace where you connect with the Lord and breathe in that refreshing air. You breathe it out through your words and your work.

What you breathe out after breathing in from the Spirit of God can bless other people. There are refreshing places on earth, and there are refreshing places in the spiritual realm where we can breathe in from the breath of God and breathe out life-giving refreshment to others. This is good for us to do. This is what God wants us to do. However, at some point each person needs to inhale from the Spirit for themselves. It's good to be inspired from others, but the air becomes stale if we do not, at times, go to the Lord ourselves and breathe in the air of the Spirit--inhale the wind and words He gives to us individually.

What exactly do we breathe in when we inhale from the Spirit of God? Well, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are characteristics of the Spirit Himself. This is how He treats you. You must receive these things from Him first--breathe them in--before you can exhale these things towards others. If I try and extend goodness to others without having received the goodness of God first then I'm offering stale air, something that is not refreshing like His Spirit is. 

Today is a good day to inhale the refreshing breath of the Spirit of God. If you can, enjoy the beauty of His creation while you do so. If not, He is still here, waiting for you to come breathe in from His breath, His Spirit and His life.

See also "What's in Your Atmosphere?"

For more on discovering art as worship visit www.HoHodos.com.