Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

      The very first breath that was transferred into Adam’s nostrils was God’s very own infinite life force making Adam an eternal being. From the first gasp of breathing awareness, Adam experienced eternity, and that eternity had been set in his heart. Eccl. 3:11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. This gift of breath we have been given continues to have God’s living life in it, and what we do with the time we have on this earth using these precious breaths counts. We can use them to live a life of selfishness or use them to honour God. We can use them to curse the creator and humanity or we can use them to bless each other and bring joy to God’s heart. The choice is ours as to how we are going to breathe while we are on this side of eternity.

      I have been asked in the past and asked again recently why I get up so early to post my blogs/articles, and work on the books that I write. Also, this question comes up frequently, “How is it possible to be on the gym floor by 5 a.m. every morning, How early do you have to get up to pull that off?” As many of my readers know, I had a rude awakening a while back when I suffered a stroke because of the obesity I had allowed to take place in my body, plus the poor food choices I was defending as my right to have. The sedentary lifestyle combined with the stroke caused me to be ill for a long time. I had become poverty-stricken in health. Prov. 24:33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Yes, I had allowed my breath of life to be managed by the evil spirit of sloth.  

      The struggles I had to go through and the effort I had to put in – just to be able to catch my breath during that first year of recovery, clearly demonstrated to me that I had misused and mismanaged the health of my body. Like so many people, I had forgotten that the breath God gave me was a gift and that I was the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1Cor. 6:19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. That was it, I had forgotten I did not belong to myself, I belonged to the Lord, who paid for me in full with His sacrifice on the cross. 

       The transfer of eternal life and the privilege of God’s breath in my nostrils is a miracle indeed. To this day, I am still fighting to maintain my health, redeem the time that was given to me, and be a trustworthy steward of the life God gave me. Many of us put these commitments off to a place called I’ll get around to it, but like so many we find ourselves heading into the second half or fourth quarter of our lives and the realization of our capability to rise to life’s challenges leaves us breathless. Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.      

      Recently, the news of friends whose premature deaths and some who have ended up with terrible diseases has rattled my consciousness, and the news of friends losing limbs and mobility to diabetes caused me to double down on my commitments to taking care of the life I have left. The effort I am giving to take care of my temple does not mean I will live any longer than others, but hopefully, it means I will have a quality of life that will continue till the number of my days drops from the hand of my God. Job 14:5 Our time on earth is brief; the number of our days is already decided by you. Therefore, while I have breath I will use it to the best of my ability to do the things God expects of me. God asks that we love one another, pray for each other, and be a brother or sister who can walk in God’s anointing to bring healing that is needed in this harsh and lost world. Matt. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.   

      While we still have time, let us get on with what God has sown in our hearts to do. Stop putting it off, when it is in your power to get on with it. Empty declarations of “I’ll get on that diet someday or, soon I will start going to the gym again and lose this extra eighty pounds.” are just empty words. Lies of, I’ll get out of this toxic relationship any day now, and I will spend more time in prayer once I get through all the dilemmas in my life – are all wasted breaths. This type of slothful rhetoric allows death to wait at the door of our lives so that we may be consumed with lying to ourselves. Let us stop and smell the holy aroma God has granted us to walk in and be the blessing we were created to be.