Inspire

Welcome. I am so honored to have you come along this daily journey with me as a woman of God, a wife and a mother and most importantly as a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that as you read this blog, you will be inspired, not by me......but inspired by what God has done in and through me, inspired by His amazing love, His grace, His forgiveness, His breath of Life and the works of His hands. He takes that which is marred and broken and makes it beautiful. Beautiful for His purposes and pleasure. Oh, that I may please Him in all I do and say. That you would be inspired to seek God in all things and that you would be inspired to dig into God's word and get to know Him more intimately.

Inspire.......Did you know that inspire means to blow or breathe into or upon, to affect so as to enliven, animate, or stimulate.

How many do we inspire each and everyday as we breathe upon them?

I was listening to a teaching the other day by Kay Smith, wife to Chuck Smith, amazing Biblical teacher and founder of Calvary Chapel Churches. Kay Smith presented me with this idea of inspiring and I have been meditating on it for the last couple of days. As I looked at what God had to say about inspiring....it is only mentioned twice in His word.

First in Job 32:8, NKJV "But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding." (KJV has breath as inspiration)

As God breathes upon us, He teaches us and gives us understanding. Understanding of who He is and His plans for you. Understanding of His ways, His thoughts, His ideas, His truths.

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, He says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

All of God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation was given by God as He breathed it into those who penned it onto paper. He breathed upon them. He infused them with His thoughts, His words, His ideas, His will. But what hits me the most, is that we, through the power of the Holy Spirit can experience HIS Breath today!

God breathes upon us daily, those who walk with Him and those who have surrendered their lives to His. Those who have believed by faith that He is who He says He is: Jesus Christ is the son of God, the Almighty. Christ came to earth as a man. He walked the earth. He experienced pain, death, sadness, temptation, joy, happiness, frustration and so much more. He loved like no other and He gave His life as a randsom for mine....for yours. He laid His life down, that we may be made whole and forgiven of our sins....the marrings upon us, our brokenness. And He is alive today. He isn't in a tomb somewhere, He is risen and we worship and serve a living Father, who breathes upon us each and every day....He inspires us to get to know Him more intimately. That is His love for us. All He asks is that you believe, by Faith.

And He gave us HIS Word....the Bible. It is alive just as He is alive. It is HIM.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

As God inspires us through His word and breathes upon us and into us, He always gets to the heart issue. He shows us what is on the inside. And let's be frank here.....it usually isn't pretty. At least, mine isn't. How many times have I breathed upon someone like a dragon, with harsh words that hurt? How many times have I breathed upon someone with self-serving motives, or without considering their feelings, or allowed my emotions to dictate my words? Oh yeh, did I enliven or stimulate (inspire), you bet......often an argument would ensue or harsh words spoken back. And then we retreat....we coil into ourselves and start stepping back away from that person. Inspire....you bet, but in an ugly way.

As we breathe upon our husband, what are our words like? Do we inspire our husbands in the Lord? Do we inspire them to be all that God has created them to be? Do we inspire them so they are built up or torn down? Do they walk out the door to work in the morning feeling enlivened and ready to take on the job ahead of them, or because of our breath, do we belittle them and cause them to shrink into themselves, seeking shelter from our breath?

And how about our children? Do we inspire them? How do we breathe upon them....with words that are harsh and spoken in anger, impatience, frustration.....or do we inspire them with love, and gentleness and softness....sometimes a firmness is needed, sometimes there is correction that must take place. But are we inspiring them toward God and being an example of who God is.....or are we inspiring them through fear and harsh words.

Our breath has weight. Our breath can sometimes come from a place of ugliness and sin. But God's breath always comes from love. Usually His breath is a gentle breeze. It speaks softly to our spirit. It caresses our face and lifts us up when the weight of the world gets to be too much. And other times, God's breath is a more forceful wind, like with Job as Job was attacking God. But God's breath always comes from the love that He has for us and His desire to show us His love more fully, it is for "instruction unto righteousness." He desires for us to be conformed into His image.

And with any breeze.....it will carry you. As a leaf falls from a tree in autum, that gentle breeze carries that leaf to a resting point. What is your resting point? Is it at the feet of Jesus? That is where is needs to be....daily. That way, as we learn more about God, our Father and His son, Jesus Christ, we are able to become complete and equipped for the work He has planned for us. We are equipped to inspire our husbands in the lord and give them the respect they are due. Through spending time in God's word, we can train our children to hear God's voice, to walk in obedience and understanding. We are able to breathe on them the gentle breeze that comes from God....because we are abiding. And we are carried. We are carried by Him and taken to the places He longs for us to visit. When we are abiding, we can accept those places, the good easy places to visit, and also the difficult, and hard places to visit. And dispite our location, dispite the pain, we can inspire others in the Lord.

Oh, that is what I long for you today.....to be inspired in the Lord, by and through His word. Nestle in and stay there....with Him... and let him breathe on you so that you can breathe Him lovingly onto others.