SUFFOCATING

How long can you hold your breath? I have no idea what the world’s record is for anyone being able to hold his or her breath, but I do know none of us can live very long without breathing.

While this might be a reality in terms of the flesh sometimes I wonder if we worry about it very much on a spiritual level. For our soul’s need fresh air and a chance to breath also. To me that relates to those things that lift us up, encourage and don’t attempt to confine in any way.

The place that ought to be most evident is in the Lord’s house. But is it? When one enters a house of worship does the word freedom truly come to mind? If not, why?

Suffocating on a spiritual level to me includes not being able to truly yield to God’s will for one’s life. The Lord knows our heart and that means among other things he knows our strengths and weaknesses. For the sake of our spiritual breath and faith he will at times allow us to be exposed to events and experiences that may seem restricting at times when in reality they will enable us to discover some new strength or get rid of an old fear. Only it may not be something we appreciate at the time.

Venturing into the shadows of uncertainty can be fearful. Anxiety can pound one like a hammer and we may not be willing to confront such challenges. Sometimes that is wisdom if the uncertainty involved taking a risk to do something that will be harmful to us. One has to be able to listen to God’s spirit to know if a given situation will ultimately bring light or utter darkness. It is so easy just to follow our own desires in that regard. To justify in our minds our actions without consulting the Lord.

Yet for some that translates into sitting in the pew week after week and somehow thinking that is enough. In their minds it represents freedom at a level they can handle. In reality whether sitting in the pews or a park or at home we can suffocate spiritually if we are attempting to inhale and exhale with our souls.

The Lord being everywhere truly includes our souls. And he can touch us and guide us through our minds even if our bodies are sitting quietly. It is our thoughts that suffocate when we don’t listen to his voice. We could be dead on the inside while having the appearance of possessing a life of blessing.

I think that idea is conveyed in scriptures when Jesus referred to the Pharisees as being like a dead man’s bones in a grave with a white headstone. I am paraphrasing, but the idea was people who had an image of a blessed and righteous life, but inwardly where only God could see they had suffocated spiritually. They died from a mindset of rebellion not just against the Lord, but what their souls truly needed.

So it is a question each of us has to be willing to ask for ourselves. Do we truly want to let ourselves follow God’s spiritual wind wherever it might lead, even if it means visiting a place everyone else calls a valley filled with shame? It is left for each of us to choose if we will breathe or continue letting our soul hold its breath.