“As long as my breath is in me
 and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils, 
my lips will not speak falsehood,
  and my tongue will not utter deceit.”
Job 27:3-4

Wait! Before you read any farther, take a deep breath. Now let it out. Become aware of your breath; the Holy Spirit is breathing life into you with each breath. That is how close God is to you!  We see this astonishing reality in today’s scripture in which it is the Spirit of God “breathing into” or “inspiring” Job to speak the words: “As long as my breath is in me and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils…”. Note Job’s words: “the Spirit of God is in my breath.”

Job swears to speak truthfully, well aware that each breath he draws, he draws from the Holy Spirit breathing life into him. Later in this book, Job exults, knowing, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). So, as you take a breath 12 to 14 times a minute, 17,000 to 20,000 times a day, know that it is the Holy Spirit continuing with you what He began with Adam, “The LORD God…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7).

It is significant that in the original languages of the Bible, the word for “spirit’ is also the word for “breath” (Hebrew: ruach; Greek: pneuma). This relation between spirit and breath serves to emphasize God’s intimate presence with you, creating you and sustaining you every moment of your life. Just as your breath is unseen yet vital for life, so the Holy Spirit is unseen but powerfully guiding and empowering your life, breath by breath.  

While we often associate the Holy Spirit with spectacular and rare experiences, Job teaches us to be in wonder at the Holy Spirit “inspiriting” divine life into us with each breath. Fourteenth century saint and spiritual writer Catherine of Sienna acknowledged, “The soul is in God and God is in the soul. God is closer to us than water is to a fish…A fish pulls oxygen out of water to breathe. God is closer. God is our breath. He sustains us.” (Catherine of Sienna, The Dialogue).

Daily, let us take time to become still and to breathe in God’s love and grace and breathe out hurry, worry, and fear. In every breath let us feel God’s presence in us, and let us worship! “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).

A fellow traveler,
Tim