You, O Spirit of God, have made me. Your breath has indeed given me life—physically and spiritually. Just as a deep breath of fresh air refreshes the body, so a deep breath of your Spirit and all your benefits rejuvenates my soul:
I can breathe in your BLESSINGS.
“Every day is a treasure box of gifts from you, waiting to be opened”—gifts like wisdom to choose what’s best, grace to forgive all wrongs, and peace that transcends understanding.[1]
I can breathe in your RESTORATION.
“You are the divine Gardener, perfect at the task of transforming withered trees”—trees withered by discouragement, trouble, and pain.
You renew me day by day, refreshing my weary soul with your Word and your presence.[2]
I can breathe in the truth of your EXCELLENCIES.
Attentive living provides the opportunity to discover the golden threads of your perfections woven into common, everyday experience.
I see your love expressed in a rainbow, your grace in a stranger’s smile, your wisdom on a page, your joy in a butterfly’s dance, your peace in a sunset. [3]
I can breathe in the comfort of your AUTHORITY.
“[You are] the stage manager in control of all players on the stage.” You are ordering events to the conclusion you ordained before time began—by your power over all things, your wisdom in all matters, and out of love for all people.[4]
I can breathe in your TRUTH.
“The Bible is an armory of heavenly weapons, a laboratory of infallible medicines, a mine of exhaustless wealth. It is a guidebook for every road, a chart for every sea, a medicine for every malady, a balm for every wound.”
These statements only begin to name the benefits of your Word. The more time I spend absorbing its truths, the more time I want to spend. “I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great treasure.”[5]
I can breathe in your ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE.
All the difficulties of life I can view as slight, temporary distresses that are producing a transcendent Glory never to cease.
“The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth. This world is but a narrow span, and we will soon have passed it. Time, how short—eternity, how long! Death, how brief—immortality, how endless!” [6]
As tensions increase around us and around the world,
may I continually BREATHE in the realities of your . . .
B lessing
R estoration
E xcellencies
A uthority
T ruth
H ealing and
E ternal perspective . . .
. . . so that I’m refreshed and strengthened to be for the praise of your glory (Ephesians 1:11-12).
[1] Psalm 68:19; quote from Joan Clayton
[2] Isaiah 40:29-31; quote from Henry Drummond; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Jeremiah 31:25
[3] Deuteronomy 32:4
[4] Psalm 22:27-28; quote from Alice Mathews in A Woman God Can Use, p. 77; Proverbs 16:4; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Romans 11:33; John 3:16
[5] Psalm 119:160; quote from Thomas Guthrie; Psalm 119:162 AMP
[6] 1 Peter 5:10; 2 Corinthians 4:17 AMP; quote from Charles Spurgeon
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From the Inside Out 