Daily Devotions
Every Breath You Take Is In God's Hand
Reading for September 16th: Daniel 4-6
And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
Daniel 5:23
There's something in this verse that I had missed when reading it before. Daniel tells the prideful king Belshazzar that he has been praising false gods who had done nothing for him, while he was ignoring the God of heaven whom he owes his life from. And what I had missed before is that Daniel said that Belshazzar depended on him for every breath he took.
Every breath is in God's hand.
Think about that. The reason you took your first breath this morning is because God gave you that breath. He not only created you, He also sustains you every minute of your day.
Every breath you take.
When is the last time you thanked God for the air you were breathing? Have you ever thanked God for the ability to breathe?
Belshazzar took his last breath later that same evening. God numbered his days and brought them to an end. And he did it that very night.
God does not owe any of us another breath. What is remarkable is that some are going to use their breath today to curse God's holy name. God ought to stop our hearts right then when we blaspheme him in that way. To think that God allows us to continue breathing after doing that is a testimony to God's patience and longsuffering toward us.
None of us deserves to breath any more than Belshazzar did. Maybe we should all take a deep breath (and feel the air rush into your lungs and then rush out) and then humbly thank God for the ability to do so.
Father, you are the Creator and Sustainer of all life. Give us grace that we may all live throughout this day. May we use every breath to glorify your name.
