Breathe Again

Training for Today: Cross-train for 55 minutes

Devotion: Breathe Again

After a period of grief, you’ll eventually feel some sense of peace and relief. The burden won’t feel so heavy anymore. You might even feel a sense of freedom as you realize you’d been trapped and stifled by a thick blanket of grief. It’s been hard to see beyond your immediate pain and surroundings. That blanket of grief has held you back in a place of darkness, longing for a breath of fresh air.


Much like this blanket of grief, our sins trap us, stifle us, limit our vision, and hold us in a place of darkness. That’s what we deserve. We’ve earned that spot under the blanket of sin, where there’s no room to move and no fresh air to breathe. But, God has destroyed sin and darkness through Christ:

7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:7-9).

Our shroud, the blanket of sin, has been destroyed! Come out into the fresh air and breathe again. Jesus has won salvation for us and for the ones we’ve lost. And the description of God’s work doesn’t stop there! Through our Savior Jesus Christ, the horrors of death are swallowed up. The tears and disgrace are gone. Breathe again.

You can count on God’s unfailing love for you. At the end of verse 8, it says, “The LORD has spoken.” What greater finality or assurance could you ask for? The One who hung every star in the sky, calms the sea, and tells the sun and moon when to shine is the same One who gives you the personal promise of salvation through Jesus. Because we can count on God’s promises, we can say in the words of Isaiah 5:9, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Rejoice in the Lord! He’s lifted your blanket of sin, and He’ll lift your blanket of grief. Trust in His promises, come out into the fresh air, and breathe again!

Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for setting me free from the stifling grip of sin. Set me free from my grief as well, and fill me with trust in your promises. Because of your love, I can breathe again. Amen.