I was reminded this week that the Holy Spirit is my breath - the life of God in me.  My life in Christ is certainly about being forgiven and belonging to the family of God but it is also about life and living.  Spirit is the very presence of God in me and in this world.  I breathe in Spirit and I breathe out Spirit and this breath is my life.  And this breath gives me focus and strength and fuels me in His kingdom work.    Job 33:4 - The Spirit of God  has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.  John 6:63 - The Spirit gives life - the flesh counts for nothing.  The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 

I like to practice yoga and breathing is a big focus in yoga.  We position our bodies and while we hold those positions, the instructor always says "Remember to breathe" and "Focus on the air coming in and out as you breathe".   If we are more focused on our bodies than our breathing we miss the full benefit of the practice.   The strength and flexibility gained in yoga come naturally from breathing in position as our muscles are fueled with life giving oxygen.  It is a work-out that builds incredible strength although there appears to be no work involved - just posing as a lotus or daisy or tree, or a cat or cow or dog, or a plank or a table, or a warrior. 

I find that living from spirit and not flesh is much like yoga.  Living from my spirit which is alive in Christ,  I focus on the breathing in and out of Spirit's life and realize that without that breath of life I will not be able to live.  I am focused and balanced and find strength in Him.  I keep breathing and I can do all things through Him.  I can be all He desires to be in me - a lotus or daisy or tree or cat or cow or dog or plank or table or a mighty warrior.  But if I am not breathing and I am more concerned with the flesh, I miss the full benefit of having Spirit living in me and my strength fails, my focus scatters, and I lose balance.  Romans 8:10-11 - But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

We have to keep breathing in every position of this life.  We can't breathe a lot today and store it up for tomorrow in case we don't feel like breathing then.  And we can't decide today to draw oxygen from the breath we took yesterday.  We will not survive in the life Christ died to give by looking back and longing for the breath of days past or hoping that we might breathe again next year.  Spirit living is just that - living.  We must keep breathing to keep living so we live now, fully present in today, trusting Him in this moment, this life position.    Breathing in Spirit's breath of life will sustain us and strengthen us, extending us to reach to new heights, giving us kingdom focus and peaceful balance in Him.

I want to be a stong warrior so I will keep breathing - even if today I am just being a daisy.
amy

Ezekiel 37:9-10 - He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'"  So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.

p.s.  I recently finished reading a book that came highly recommended by three dearly loved and greatly respected friends.  One of those friends just happened to have a spare copy in her bag one day at lunch and that is how I got my hands on the book.  Instead of passing that copy on to another friend, (as I promised I would) I bought two  of them to give to my friend so that she could read one and have one in her bag to give away, too.  The book is The Shack by William P. Young.  I plan to buy a few more copies to give away and I plan to read my copy again soon.  Without saying too much about the story, I'll say that it is a beautiful revelation of God's heart and it will change the way you live in His love.  And one of my favorite things in The Shack is how Spirit is portrayed.  Get a couple of copies and find great delight in Spirit as you remember to breathe, and become a warrior in His huge army.