The Stewardship of Breath

The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. —Job 33:4

God gives you the air to breath (Gen. 2:7; Acts 17:25).  Your breath is in the hand of God (Job 12:10; Dan. 5:23).

Think about what God did to enable you to breath.  First, God had to create vegetation that gives off oxygen for us to breath.  Next, He had to create a sufficient amount of plant life to supply enough oxygen for us to breath.  How much is that?  Scientists estimate that one man needs a minimum of 50 liters oxygen per hour to sustain his life.  On average one medium size leaf gives off about five milliliters of oxygen per hour.  That means one person needs about ten thousand leaves, or about 300 to 500 plants to produce the right amount of oxygen.  [This does not take into account all the other animal life that breathes oxygen.]  God provided this in order for you just to breath (not counting the other 7+ billion people on earth).  What an awesome and wise God we serve!

The question is, how are you using your God given breath?  Some use it to curse or blaspheme God.  Some use their breath to lie, gossip, or boast about themselves. What a waste of air!

If you want to use your breath wisely, use it to tell others the good news of Jesus Christ… use it to preach His Word… use it to glorify God and sing His praises.  As God commands, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord” (Ps. 150:6).  When you think of all God did to give you air to breath, what better way to thank Him for it?