Spilled Salt: Breathing

My daughter has a cold. My wife has a cold. I have a cold.

In our house, we are all learning the valuable lesson of the importance of breathing. Through out the night, my daughter (almost 6 months old) coughs and coughs as she struggles to get the mucous out of her system so she can breathe as she needs.

The bug is going around, I hope that you escape it.

And now, with the help of some caffeine, liquid Tylenol and a roll of Halls – I’ve made it to the office to get some final work done before the weekend.

Last night at my youth, the worship band lead the singing of this one song, “breathe.” It’s a very simple song, with a massive message – without the mucous.

“This is the air I breathe; this is the air I breathe, Your holy presence living in me.
This is my daily bread; this is my daily bread, Your very word spoken to me.
And I, I’m desperate for you, And I, I’m lost without you.”  (Here's a YouTube version of this song.)

In worship services of all sorts, I often find myself just reading the words off the screen, not being affected by them, or even realising what I’m singing – or reading for that matter.

Last night, I was standing there – and I realised what I was singing. And now, as my cold worsens, I am realising even more so the importance of breath.

I love Greek and Hebrew word studies, and one of my favourites is the Hebrew word “ruah”. It means three different things,
1. Wind,
2. Spirit,
3. Breath.

Ezekiel 37:1-14, is where Ezekiel has the vision of the valley of the dry bones. Click here to read it. The word “breathe” in verses 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10 are all interchangeable with the word “spirit,” notably, the Spirit of God. The bones in the valley were filled with the Spirit of God to become alive.

Ezekiel 37:14, where the Lord is saying this to Ezekiel about the Israelites: “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.” The word “Spirit” here is also ‘ruah’, the Breathe of the Lord.

We can use this same meaning of the word “breathe” in the song “Breathe.” Where the ‘ruah’ (wind) is the air we breathe, which is the Spirit of God we breathe in, and therefore breathe out.

There are times during my daughters cold (especially during the night) where she becomes desperate for air, and she coughs out her mucous to create a passage for air. Air is something we crave; we would simply not exist without it. So she coughs and coughs, and then takes in a deep breath.

Sometimes, aspects of our lives get filled with a sickness, and our ability to be true Spilled Salt is lost or is at least is hampered. We need to cough to get rid of the sickness, and to take a deep breath of fresh air as to bring on healing.

The Lord saw this sickness in the Israelites, and worked through Ezekiel to reveal this to them. The Lord sees this same sickness (and other sicknesses) amongst you and I. He is using Ezekiel to reveal the sickness to us.

So the Lords words for us, “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.”

The Wind of the Lord is in you.
The Breath of the Lord is in you.
The Spirit of the Lord is in you.

Go now, and be true Spilled Salt in this day, making our world taste better – and perhaps mucous free.