Don't panic...it's alright!

'Just Breathe' has been so much more to me than just another series for Beloved. It has been a constant reminder, encouragement, and motivator for me. 'Just Breathe, April' I can't tell you how many times I've said this phrase to myself over the last month. 'Breathe, April, breathe'. It's been a battle for me lately. Seems like there is so much on me, and working against me. My mind is clouded, and my chest is heavy. Breathing is like a labor pain at times. I'm tired. And I'm frustrated. But, I keep listening to God's reminders to me, that elicit me to keep breathing. There is still life! and where life has left, there is the restorer of all things to bring it back! God is sovereign! He is the ultimate, the supreme! So, I read His word, and I breathe Him in. I breathe Him in because #Godismyair. I cannot breathe on my own, He is my life support! I allow His word to remind me that "...we wrestle not against flesh and blood. But against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." This helps me focus on God, and not be distracted by the who or what that the enemy is using against me. So, I stand on God's truths, instead of what my current situation tells me. With each breath I take, I'm breathing in encouragement, hope, peace, and endurance. Ezekiel 37:5 says "I will make breath enter you, and you will live again." I believe He is the breather of life into every situation brought to destruction by the enemy. The enemy can cause all sorts of destruction and chaos in my life, but He doesn't have to authority to take me out, and He cannot defeat me! So, I keep breathing. I keep breathing God, because #Godismyair. I have hope because He says in John 16:33 "...In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." I refuse to believe the show the enemy puts on for me everyday to convince me otherwise. I simply won't do it. I won't tune into his channel. My spirit in encouraged in the Lord, and my heart has hope. My mind has His peace. Philippians 4:6-7 became my life's scripture years ago. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of god, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. So I keep breathing. I keep breathing because #Godismyair. When the waters seem to get deep, and I feel like I'm drowning, He tells me in Isaiah 43:2 "when you go through deep waters, I will be with you". So, you see, His word is what I breathe. It resuscitates me. It brings Joy that can't be shaken, even in the toughest of times. And that joy transforms into my strength! So I have endurance in this season where breathing is so hard. Philippians 1:6 says I can be “confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” His consistency and presence never abandons nor fails me. He is faithful, and trustworthy. So when I can’t who or what is around me, I can trust Him, His word, His ability, and His love. When everything hits me at the same time, and take my breathe away, I stand on this:

So, don’t panic…it’s alright! You’ve got this, Beloved. Take just one more breath, receive all the God has to offer you in that breath, then breathe again. Just Breathe!

~Beloved