God's Chest

One of my brother's has pneumonia right now. If you have never been around a little guy with pneumonia, let my try to sum it up for you: never ending hack-like coughing, intense and labored breathing, loss of appetite, and crying in their sleep. Needless to say, it is not fun. It kinda reminds me of when a baby has the croup. Mostly because of the difficulty breathing part. My mom told me that she has only been half-way sleeping since he has been sick. She partly stays awake to listen and make sure he keeps breathing. She did this when all us kids would get sick. This conversation with her got me thinking...

I have not had very many seasons in my life that I would say were like suffocating. I have been through hard things, yes. But there has really only been a handful of seasons where I felt like life was literally being sucked out of me. There was one in particular that is still fresh on my mind. It was what I not-so-lovingly-call my "dark season." If that sounds grotesque or emo, it isn't. It was just what it sounds like, dark. It was an intense season of deep sorrow, pain, and anger. I recently discovered an old journal (don't you love it when that happens!) and I read through just about all of it last night. Many of the prayers/rantings/cryings were for a breath of God, because I felt like I was suffocating.

Then, it hit me like a cool wave hits your hot sticky feet on the beach.

In seasons of pain, of doubt, of struggle, of suffocation...God scoops us up, lays our weary head on His chest and lets us breathe. He breathes in and out, in and out. He breathes over us.

"He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart..." -Isaiah 40:11

If you are in a "dark season" right now, if you feel like you are suffocating, if you are thinking you won't make it, run to Him. Let Him hold you. He is paying close attention. He will not take His ears or eyes off of you. If your breathing is labored right now, He knows it. He sees your affliction. He is not going to let it overpower you.

"After He took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put His fingers into the man's ears. Then He spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, 'ephphatha!' (which means, 'be opened!'). -Mark 7:33-34

If you are suffocating right now, then this is my challenge:

Be raw with Jesus. Ask Him to open you up. Ask Him to be so intimate with you that you can feel Him on your tongue. Feel His hands cupped around your face. Feel Him sigh over you, and whisper words of healing.

I love you, friend. Be blessed this day.