Is the Crisis Overwhelming You?

Is the crisis overwhelming you? The pandemic is lasting longer than any of us thought and there really is no end in sight. It’s like running a marathon but someone keeps moving the finish line.

If you’re going to come out of this pandemic with your family — work — life intact, you’ve got to find a way to pause and breathe in the midst of it. It can be the difference between winning or losing or even just making sure you cross the finish line. 

Maybe you’re guilty of eating lunch over your computer or working through breaks or putting in extra hours to zero out your emails. Maybe you’re working remotely and life and work has mashed into a 24/7 blur with no boundaries on when work begins and ends. Add to that the challenge of raising a family or caring for an elderly person and this marathon has morphed into a ninja warrior obstacle course and somebody just raised the bar.

You’re running hard but you’re running out of steam because you’ve miscalculated the finish line. No one is immune to the crisis and it’s affecting each of us in different ways.

Fitness coaches will tell you that good breathing techniques will elevate your ability to perform. If the exercise is intense and you’re struggling to finish — they’ll encourage you to focus on your breathing. Focus on the regulated in-through-your-nose and out-through-your-mouth inhale-exhale that will recenter your mind and fill your body with the oxygen resources to help you finish strong.

The same principle can be applied to our spiritual life, our daily living. You’ve sprinted through the week or the morning and now your strength is waning, you’ve lost your focus. Your energy has tanked and you’re struggling with a deadline or a fussy child or a co-worker with a bad attitude — all of which is amplified while dealing with the restrictions and heartaches of the pandemic. 

Pause and breathe. Take a moment in your schedule to be still before the Lord and receive His rejuvenating presence. Inhale and let His breath fill every fiber of your being — your mind, your heart, your physical body. Breathe in life… and exhale out the frustrations and weariness and physical exhaustion.

When Ezekiel looked over the valley of dry bones, he was told to prophesy God’s breath into the dry and lifeless. “…Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!” (Ezekiel 37:5 NLT)

When the early apostles were waiting for God’s promise, the Holy Spirit blew into the house like a might rushing wind, empowering and inspiring God’s people to do his work. (Acts 2:2)

As you face your tasks today, take a moment to pause and breathe and pray. Breathe in, breathe out. Receive God’s wind, His very breath into your soul.