Breathe

As a happily married man of almost 20 years, I have seen more than my fair share of “chick flicks”.  Whether this is a confession or a simple statement of facts, I have not a clue.  Either way, every blue moon, I quote a line from one of my wife’s favorite “chick flicks” just to surprise her.  I can’t say I rack up brownie points for my efforts but it does seem to keep her off guard that I was paying attention and not napping during one of her movies.

Anyway, one of her long time favorites has Tom Hank’s living in Seattle trying to get on with his life after his wife passed away.  Why Hollywood thought this material was remotely entertaining is beyond me but they made a movie about it anyway.  And to make it even more troublesome, Tom is saddled with a bratty 8 year old son that is in “serious need of a few trips to the woodshed” (as my father would say).  Sorry, I digress….

At some point in the movie (approximately 5 ½ hours into the movie), Tom Hanks is on the phone with a radio psychologist discussing his grief process.  He explains that his daily process is to “breathe in and out”. 

At first, I chalked that cliché script up to Hollywood “chick flick” banter but after 10+ years of watching the same movie on a regular basis, I have either uncovered a shred of truth in the statement or my brain has turned to mush. 

OK, I will quit blathering and get to my point.  Have you ever felt overwhelmed and half a heartbeat from needing a valium? 

No, well, on occasion, I have, or I do. 

My point?  God knows that for my faith to grow, sometimes He has to push me outside my comfort zone and push me into waters deeper than I feel comfortable.  No one was more aware of this than the great leader of Israel, Moses. 

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else."  Exodus 4:10-13

Exactly how can you say you have faith if you never put it to the test and always live inside your safety zone. 

Ponder the term, “Leap of Faith”. 

Do you believe that when God calls you to take a “Leap of Faith” that He allows you to continue to peddle along with your training wheels on? 

Nope, God will call on you to “get out of the box” and show that you trust Him. 

This week, God has put me in 100 situations simultaneously and I felt like I was drowning.

THAT’S when God brought Tom Hank’s quote to mind, “Breathe in and out”.  And in the Christian world, “Breathing” is synonymous with “Praying”.  So, this week, I have found myself breathing prayers and simply addressing one God given opportunity to serve at a time.  Trusting that God would keep prioritizing the work He has for me to do and empowering me to handle what He puts on my plate. 

Perhaps another good blog would be to address God giving us unlimited access to His power but refusing to unload it until we need it in serving others ~ only then giving what is needed to complete that opportunity to serve.

The Bible verse that keeps coming to mind comes from the life story of Esther.  Her husband the King issued a command for the Jews to be killed and God called on her to step up and confront the King.  God’s messenger told her that she had a choice: she could step out of her comfort zone and blindly obey what God wanted her to do ~ OR ~ she could play it safe and remain a quiet spectator.  Of course, she was warned that if she remained a quiet spectator, God would raise up someone else to take her place in doing His Work. 

I simply know in my heart that Queen Esther had a moment where she simply had to calm her heart and “breathe in and out”. 

And in that moment, deciding what she believed about God.  Did she trust Him?  Did she believe He would be there for her when she needed Him?  Would God abandon her and leave her to fight in her own strength?  “Breathe”  

“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”  Esther 4:14