I recently began a new video blog (vlog) on Facebook called “The Breathing Room.” Its purpose is framed in Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life.” God’s breath gives us life. We need His breath.
Many know me as an international evangelist and author, but you don’t know my story. My entire journey has been one that can be defined as almost out of breath, then God would restore me. I call it “the shh factor”: from shy to stunned to shoved to shelved to shouting from the rooftops!
You see, the first half of my life, I was hidden. Whether it was as a shy young girl, having my park-bench experience, desiring more in life, marrying a bold man, being an overwhelmed youth pastor’s wife (lost at times in fear), being a sidelined evangelist’s wife, discovering a desire to have another child, heading to China, being rescued by Abby, raising a family, fighting for our son—to speaking all over the world, writing the book Dehydrated and then Rebuilding the Altar with my husband, Pat; there were hidden moments long before there were stage moments. Listen to me: You will never become known until you are first hidden. I have spent more time in the hidden place than on the stage. As my husband, Pat, says, “the greater the anointing, the greater the isolation!”
I love this Scripture in Psalm 27:5: “for in the time of trouble He will hide me in His pavilion;
in the shelter of His tabernacle He will hide me; He will set me up on a rock.” Don’t discount the hidden times.
Have you ever felt as though you are out of breath? I hate that out-of-breath feeling. I recently struggled with asthma and breathing issues (praise God for the healing He gave me), but I hate not being able to breathe in deep, having that feeling that you aren’t getting enough air into your lungs. When you can’t breathe deeply, it affects all aspects of your body and health.
The same is true of our spiritual life; we all need deep breaths and to breathe Him in deep. There are many “breathing rooms” in the Bible: Moses encountered a breathing room on the backside of the desert; Isaiah found his in a cave; the Shunamite Woman found hers in her son’s bedroom; the disciples found it in an upper room. There are “breathing room” encounters throughout God’s Word.
Let’s talk about the breath of God. Genesis 1:2-3 says, “The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
He said, “Let there be light” and there was light. It’s through your breath that words take form. God spoke, breath came forth—the Word of God was formed!
The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word was God! They were separate but all the same—all one.
I think sometimes we miss things in Scripture by just trying to get our daily reading in. Look back at Genesis 1:2-3. If we just use the English word “spirit,” we will miss what is being described here. The Bible is describing a scenario where breath is involved. The breath of God! The word “spirit” in the Hebrew is ruach, which means “air in motion” and is the same word for “breath.”
The Greek word for “spirit” is pneuma, which means “wind or breath.” So I think we can read in Genesis 1, “The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the [breath] of God was hovering over the surface of the water. God said [or breathed], ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:2-3).
God’s Spirit or “breath” always brings life! The Bible says, “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7).
What about Eve? Has it ever struck you, as it did me, that it never says God breathed into Eve? Why didn’t He have to breathe life into Eve? It just says, “Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man” (Gen. 2:22).
I don’t know about you, but this bothered me. Why would God not have breathed into her? Then God revealed to me the answer. See, He didn’t need to breathe into Eve, because life was in the bones (Ezekiel talks about bringing bones to life). But catch this also, we’ve heard that Eve was taken from Adam’s ribs, why the rib bone? Maybe because they are called to walk side by side. Yes, but that is not all there is to it; what is the purpose of the ribs? The ribs protect the lungs. They house the breath. We must be protectors of the breath. Come on; that is powerful!
So we know that breath is important and we need His breath, but just how important is it? Here are four things the breath of God does for us, and one thing we must do as well:
- His breath gives you life.
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life” (Job 33:4). God’s breath will give you life! “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.”
- His breath drives back the enemy.
“By His breath He has made fair the heavens; His hand has formed the fleeing serpent” (Job 26:13).
- The breath of God brings understanding.
“But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding” (Job. 32:8).
- His breath will heal your bones.
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you so that you live” (Ezek. 37:5).
There are 150 psalms and the very last psalm, Psalm 150, declares this: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Our breath is meant to praise Him; it is meant to be His echo here in the earth (as it was for Ezekiel) and to tell others of His goodness.
I want to create a room or a place where the wind and the breath of God blows freely at all times! God is about to give CPR to some of you (Christ, power and resurrection). Romans 8:11 says the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead will quicken your mortal bodies. We need His breath. I need His breath. In His breath is found life, freedom, understanding and healing!
Breathe Him in today and allow it to bring life to the places in your life that might be dead or dying. His breath can restore and replenish. And as He breathes into you, then become His echo and bring life to others.
Please enjoy the first episode of our Facebook Live series, The Breathing Room, and remember to breathe Him in!
{eoa}
Karen Schatzline is an international Christian evangelist and author who, with her husband Pat, founded Remnant Ministries International in 1997. Karen ministers with passion and fire; her messages always deliver hope, freedom and a call to intimacy with the Father. Karen is the author of the powerful book, Dehydrated (Charisma House), which will lead you into a deeper encounter and intimacy with God. Together, Karen and Pat authored Rebuilding the Altar (Charisma House), a wakeup call to the church and believers to rebuild the place of encounter. Karen also hosts a bi-weekly video blog called “The Breathing Room,” which has an online audience of tens of thousands and can be seen live on Facebook or through archived episodes on YouTube.
Karen makes her home in Fort Worth, Texas, along with her husband, evangelist and author Pat Schatzline and their daughter Abigail. Their son Nate and daughter-in-love Adrienne live in California, where they are youth pastors and have made Pat and Karen grandparents with their two sons, Jackson and Anderson.
This article originally appeared at karenschatzlineblog.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
