I had been reading and reflecting on the image of God's Spirit as breath. God breathed life into humanity. God's Spirit breathed new life in Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones. One of Job's friends said it this way: the breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4).
And that idea is not just in the Old Testament. The Spirit is at work in the life of Jesus and fills the early church with power and renewal.
That same Spirit is with us, too!
Maybe that's why one word stood out to me during a recent men's Bible study. We were reflecting on Jesus' parable of the farmer who sowed seed in the field. Different obstacles kept three out of the four seeds from bearing fruit. Only one seed grew as the farmer would have wanted. The word that caught my attention was choke. Jesus said the cares of the world choked some of the seed.
And there's the tension of our life with God. God is always breathing life into us. But we let other things choke it out.
Again, I don't think I can say it enough: God is still breathing life into God's people. The question is whether we're making room for that breath. If you were choking at the dinner table, you'd want to someone to clear your airway so you can breathe again. Well, let this be a chance for you to pay attention to your spiritual breathing. 
What's tightening around your soul? Worry, hurry, comparison, resentment, fear? Whatever it is, name it as a way of loosening its grip on you today.
Let the Spirit fill your lungs again. Let something go so that what God is breathing can actually take root. Breathe again. God has not taken the Spirit from you. So, don't let anything else choke it out of you!
Stay blessed...john | 
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