Natural Breath, Why An Army, Spiritual Breath.

(A)Natural Breath

Ezekiel 37:8

“I looked and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.”

Here are some facts and other thoughts, some proof of just how fare fully and wonderfully made we are, this:

“To help adjust your breathing to changing needs, your body has sensors that send signals to the breathing centres in the brain.

Sensors in the airways?detect lung irritants. The sensors can trigger sneezing or?coughing. In people who have?asthma, the sensors may cause the muscles around the airways in the lungs to contract. This makes the airways smaller.

Sensors in the brain and near blood vessels?detect carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in your blood.

Sensors in your joints and muscles?detect the movement of your arms or legs. These sensors may play a role in increasing your breathing rate when you are physically active.” (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/lungs/body-controls-breathing)

It is God’s design that our breath carries in oxygen and out carbon dioxide. On a wider view plants that he has created do the opposite, taking in our carbon dioxide and giving us oxygen. All part of his amazing creation.

The breath of God is in us we are alive.

The breath of God is pivotal to our existence as individuals and as an Army. As an Army we are united in our aim. But an Army needs to be sustained. In a battle situation a smaller Army that is better supplied, better resourced is likely to win out over a larger force with few supplies and resources. This has happened many times in the history of warfare.

Like the battle resource, breath is sustaining, life giving.

Let’s have a look at the breath of life, the resource that as part of the Worldwide Church and our part in it as The Salvation Army we are aware of. Without oxygen in our bodies we cannot sustain life, the we need to get rid of carbon dioxide as waste. Our breathing is vitally important.

God gave the breath of life to all living creatures.

Genesis 2:7

"Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

Acts 17:25

"nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things."

Take a deep breath and hold it.

This from Job 27:3-4

"as long as I have life within me,

the breath of God in my nostrils,

my lips will not say anything wicked,

and my tongue will not utter lies."

Breath out! Expelling the waste from your bodies.

So we get this depiction of ourselves, an understanding of God holding us, giving us all life in his provision of breath. This certainly gives a deeper meaning to the song, “This is the air I breathe, your Holy presence living in me, by Michael W Smith.”

Sandra Thurman Caporale from the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston wrote this (slightly abridged).

“There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.

Over time we’ve added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH,

But scholars and Rabi’s have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.

YH (inhale): WH (exhale).

So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.

A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.

Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breath is giving constant acknowledgment to God.

Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filing their lungs.

So when I can’t utter anything else, is my cry calling out His name?

Being alive means I speak His name constantly.

So, is it heard the loudest when I’m the quietest?

In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs.

In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst.

In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.

When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage.

When I think about it, breathing is giving him praise. Even in the hardest moments!

This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought. God chose to give himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive.

All of us, always, everywhere.

Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the name of God on our lips.”

(B) Why an army