Breathe!

Breathe!                                                              June 22, 2025

We take thousands of breaths each day without even noticing.  Yet behind each breath lies an intricate and miraculous process.  Our brain sends signals to the diaphragm, which contracts and allows air to fill our lungs.  Oxygen enters the bloodstream, nourishes our cells, and keeps us alive.  All of this happens in seconds – without our conscious effort.

Scientists still don’t fully understand the precise mechanisms behind breathing.  Why does the body know exactly how much oxygen we need?  Why does the heart and brain work together in such perfect harmony?  The truth is, we know so little about the very process that keeps us alive.  And yet, God knows.  He designed it all.

If we don’t even understand how a single breath is sustained, how can we expect to understand God’s greater work in our lives?  We make plans, assume outcomes, and try to control our circumstances – but God’s ways are not our ways.  His perspective reaches far beyond what we can see or understand.

There are moments when we feel like nothing is working out, when our efforts seem wasted and doors seem closed.  We pray and seek answers, but things don’t unfold the way we expect.  But just as our bodies breathe without our control, God is working behind the scenes, aligning things according to His will – even when we don’t see it.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).  The breath we take, the life we live – it all depends on Him.  He holds everything together.  We may not understand how, but we can trust that He does.

When we feel discouraged or confused, remember: the One who gives us breath is in control.  Even when we don’t understand, He knows what He is doing.

By Robert Kargbo (Middleton, WI)