Breathe--With God

I am really excited to post this next article (#5) from Ron. It really ties in with a lot that God seems to be saying right now. This idea that our primary response to God is to submit or surrender to Him is resonating in the Body. I believe God is moving in a unique way and this is to be our response...surrender...and breath Him in. Then His life will flow out of us and His will is accomplished and He gets all the credit! ~Jon


Breathe – With God
By Ron Bergthold

Why do bagpipers walk when they play? (Answer: To get away from the sound.)

With the exception of bagpipes (a rather abnormal instrument), wind instruments require you to breathe in just before you play. In fact, we usually take a breath that matches the speed and length of the note we are about to play. Proper breathing is one of the basic requirements in learning to play well. It allows the player to sustain lengthy notes or complete connected phrasings. It maintains a proper tone, pitch and volume, while lack of adequate breathing will produce a shaky, thin, or choppy sound. In short, breathing provides life to the music played.

I am convinced that God is an awesome instrumentalist. The breath of God is described early in the Bible, beginning with Genesis 2 when He breathes physical life into Adam. In Ezekiel 37 we find dry bones receiving the breath of God, also coming to physical life through Ezekiel’s prophesying word. Although the bones received tendons and flesh, this passage was pointing to a different kind of breath and life that God later made available through the Acts 2 Pentecostal wind of the Holy Spirit.

We become the very instrument of God when we enter into a relationship with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit providing the very breath needed to produce music for God. This means several things to us.

The first is that we exist only as long as God provides our next physical breath. Acts 17:25 says that God “is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”

The second is that, besides being physically worthless to Him, we are spiritually worthless to God without first offering ourselves in submission to His spiritual breath. Romans 6:13 says, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.”

The third is that when we do submit spiritually, music which is beautiful to God’s ears arises from our lives. Our submission must match the speed and length of the Holy Spirit’s breath and intent. We can prepare to receive this powerful force by learning and meditating on scripture so we can gain familiarity with the breath. Shallow understanding of the Word and its truth will limit our willingness to respond to the breath.

But we also must realize that our response ultimately originated with God and not of ourselves. Romans 12:3 says; “Do not think of yourself more highly that you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” When we are lovingly patient with an annoying coworker, it is the result of us submitting our tongue to God’s breath. If we encourage or otherwise help a friend who is depressed, it was not done on our own initiative, but was an act of a virtuoso who loves to play His instrument.

Let us always be His submissive instruments…!

For the TRBC Orchestra on September 24, 2008