Sometimes we’re making things a whole lot harder than they need to be. Sometimes we’re struggling hardcore all while there’s a solution to make this better.
We left the island on Friday and are now traveling all across the country in areas void of turquoise waters and palm trees (I’m not bitter, I’m just missing it). I also left my morning routine which I absolutely loved. Immediately after writing and recording the devotional each morning, I would hop on a bright yellow bicycle with a basket on the front, and I would ride down to the beach to do a workout and yoga. I must have looked ridiculous to all the neighbors as I rode by. Braids flying in the wind, one hand usually up and waving as I belted out some joyous worship song, just savoring the sunshine and beauty.
But the last few weeks had been harder. Much harder than normal. I had gotten sick and struggled with energy, but dang my legs could now hardly pump the pedals on the bike. What was normally an easy breezy ride to the beach was now a real struggle just to make it. I would arrive on the beach for my workout already exhausted just from the difficult ride there. Why was it suddenly so much harder?
I ran through all the possible scenarios and I was pretty sure I was dealing with some undiagnosed disease, blood clots in my legs, or hardcore leftover symptoms from my sickness. Or I was dying. Maybe that’s it. I’m just dying.
I bet your mind does that too. You run through possible scenarios and you land on the worst possible one and claim it as your truth. You paint horrible pictures and tell yourself terrible stories at the slightest sign of struggle. Well, maybe we should stop that. Maybe that’s not helping a darn thing. And maybe our tendency to tell ourselves the bad stories and jump to horrible conclusions is hindering us from seeing what’s really wrong.
On my final day on the island I hopped on the green bike my hubby had been riding, and left the yellow one for him so he could ride down later with coffee and pastries in the basket. Y’all, I couldn’t believe it. I was peddling with ease. I was flying. My legs were working fabulously. I wasn’t the least bit tired when I got to the beach.
Was it a miraculous healing or what?
Hubby arrived on the beach shortly afterwards and I saw it. I saw the problem now that I wasn’t the one on the yellow bike. The tires were nearly flat. The air had been seeping out slowly, and every day as the tires became more and more flat, the bike became harder and harder to pedal. Y’all, I wasn’t dying afterall … I just needed some air!
Sometimes when life is a struggle, it’s really not all the terrible scenarios we imagine in our head, it’s simply our need for air. We need air! We need to be filled up again because we’re running low.
Oh my gosh sis, that’s it … this is so dang hard because you’re riding around on nearly flat tires and you need to be filled. Yes, you need to be pumped up!
Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”
It is the breath of God that gives us life. His breath is the air we breathe. When we’re running low, shallow breathing and shallow living, everything becomes a struggle. What you could normally do with ease becomes an exhausting chore. Honey, you need the breath of God to breathe on you, fill you up with air, and help you live fully again!
It’s funny how when it’s your life, you don’t see it. But if you could take a step back you would see the problem. When my hubby came riding up on the beach on my yellow bicycle, it was so clear the tires were nearly flat. But I couldn’t see it when I was on it myself. I thought the problem was me … but the problem was a lack of air.
Maybe this problem isn’t you, maybe it’s a lack of air. Maybe it’s been a while since you connected to the source and let him breathe life into you to fully live. His breathe makes this so much better! It turns the impossible into possible.
In John 20:22 Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection and ‘Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.”
This is the breath of Jesus. The Holy Spirit. Our guide. Our strength. Our peace. His breath is the air that makes anything we’ve been struggling with possible to overcome. His breath is what fills us and guides us in unspeakable ways. His breath is what strengthens us to do the very thing we couldn’t do before. His breath is what brings peace in the middle of the hardest times of our lives.
This is the air we need. We’re running low. We’re struggling our way through this thing when what we need is Jesus to breathe on us as he did the disciples. Fill us with your Holy Spirit.
This air, this breath of Jesus, this Holy Spirit produces fruit in our lives. Galatians 5: 22-23 “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Everything you’re struggling to do right now can be overcome with his breath. You’ve just been running low. It’s time to get filled up again. It’s time to get pumped up!
A little air in the tires of my yellow bike made that baby ride like new. The struggle was replaced by my braid flying, hand waving, worshiping joy ride once again. All because of a little air after running low.
Come get yourself a little air sis, it looks to me like you might be running low. If your patience has grown thin, if your self-control is now out of control, if your joy has jumped ship, and your peace has peaced out, those are all signs you need air. That air is the breath of Jesus. The Holy Spirit that pumps you up and makes the impossible possible.
Yes, it’s time to get pumped up! Here’s God and Jesus saying “we’re here to PUMP – YOU UP!” Hey, I’m all about it. Pump me up, I’m tired of running low.