Remember to Breathe

One of my favorite verses is 2 Timothy 1:7(KJV), because it is a verse that reminds me of the power I have as one of the children of God. It is a verse that is reassuring especially since we live in societies around the world that questions the identity of persons, and it causes individuals to question who they are in the world. In 2 Timothy 1: 7 (KJV), Paul tells Timothy these words, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

When I think of this particular verse, it is one that reminds me to breathe and be confident in the Lord. It is for this cause they I have entitled this particular message “Remember to breathe.”

It is our God-given right in this life to breathe. Breathing is an important part of God’s creation story. In Genesis 2: 7 (KJV), the prophet Moses wrote that, “...the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. This verse lets us know that God is the one who breathed the breath of life into man’s nostrils, and it was not until then that man became a living soul. God is the one who gives man breath, and God is the only One who has the right to take breath from man. No one has the right to take away a man's breath except the One who gave it to him. As I was writing this sermon, I was reminded of Eric Garner and George Floyd, and how they both cried “I can’t breathe” as they lay on the ground dying from police brutality I was reminded of Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, and Tyre Nichols and how their breath was taken away by police brutality, but the bible lets us know that not even the police have the God-given right to take man’s breath away. I’m reminded of Emmitt Till, Medger Evers, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and how their breath was taken away by racism and hatred. This is a trespass against God. For it is written, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20: 13 KJV).

There are many things in this life that attempt to take our breath away, but today we are going to talk about how fear and even anger tries to take away our breath. My son, Tedrick, made me think about this particular subject, because I noticed how he struggled to breathe when he gets angry. It made me remember how there were times when I struggled to breathe when I was angry. For some people, fear also causes them to struggle to breathe. So, I began practicing breathing exercises where I take several deep breaths, and I also taught my son, Tedrick, to practice taking deep breaths when he gets upset. Studies have shown that deep breathing exercises help us to think clearly. So, in order to think clearly, we must remember to breathe.

I have approximately twelve years of experience in the law enforcement field. For the last three years I have been teaching about law enforcement in the public school system. There are several trainings that law enforcement officers take that deal with crises and the human response to crises. There is a human condition that law enforcement professionals and researchers have found to be common among human responses to crises, and that is that the human response to trauma and crises often fall into two main categories being fight or flight. It seems that there is something natural about us as humans that cause us to either fight or flight when responding to danger, conflict, and crisis situations. These responses seem to be natural for us, and it’s what we do to survive whatever it is we are going through. However, when we look deeper into our fight or flight instinct, we can see that lying under the surface is fear and anger. However, there is nothing natural about fear. Fear became a part of our nature through sin. In Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating from the forbidden tree. When they sinned against God, they realized that they were naked. Their innocence was gone, and they hid from God. When God asked them why they were hiding, Adam said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” At that very moment, fear became a part of our nature as human beings.

For me, when I am faced with conflict, danger, or crisis, my response is a mixture of fear and anger. Initially, I must admit that it is fear, but there is something in my mind that causes me to quickly transform that fear I have into anger. I believe my mind quickly resorts to anger in order to fight or protect myself from what I perceive to be a danger in the moment. I’m not the only person who is conditioned that way. There are many who have been conditioned to anger for their survival. There are others whose natural response is fear, and fear causes them to escape or run away in order to survive what they perceive to be danger. But I am encouraged by the words of Paul found in Romans 8: 14-15 (KJV), where he says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Paul is letting us know that we don’t receive the spirit of bondage to fear. But we are the children of God because we are led by the Spirit of God. Since we are the children of God, we have the right to cry out to God in prayer. We have the right to cry Abba Father. The word Abba is the Hebrew word father. It is the most endearing word a Hebrew child could use to call their father. That’s why Paul tells us we can cry Abba Father. In Acts 2:2, the apostle Peter said, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” All we have to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and the Bible says we shall be saved. You don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have to try to fight your own battles. All you have to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and you shall be saved. Why don’t you take a moment, and pray these words,” Lord Jesus!, save me!” The saints used to sing the old Pentecostal hymn, “If you call on Jesus, he will answer prayer.”

There are few things about our text that we need to know so that we can better understand its meaning. 2 Timothy 1:7 comes from a letter that was written by the apostle Paul. Paul was writing this letter to a young man named Timothy while he was on death row in prison. Paul knew that he was soon to be executed for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he also invested several years of his life preparing Timothy for the ministry of preaching the gospel. Paul had a close relationship with Timothy so much that Paul called Timothy his “…own son in the faith” (2 Tim 1: 2). The first thing our text teaches us is that there is a spirit whose name is fear. Then our text tells us that God has not given us the spirit of fear. Fear is a spirit that Christians should always war against, because our text also lets us know that God has given us his Spirit who gives us power, love, and a sound mind. When we allow ourselves to be consumed by the spirit of fear, we become trapped inside the bondage of fear. But I’m reminded of the words of Jesus in Luke 10: 19 (KJV) when he told his disciples, “Behold I give you power to tread upon serpents, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” My pastor, Michael Hickmon has a saying that he learned from his pastor, and it says, “All means all.” Just like all means all, nothing means nothing. Jesus has given us power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt us.

In conclusion, I want to tell you a story about the apostle Paul. Paul was on a ship headed toward the coast of Asia with about 276 men. As they were traveling on the ship, a strong wind came from the southeast direction called Euroclydon. The wind actually caused a storm on the sea. Everybody on the ship was afraid, but Paul was not afraid because God sent an angel to be with Paul just to make sure everything was okay with his holy apostle. The storm was so bad that it wrecked the ship, and it tore the ship in pieces, but the angel made a promise to Paul that no one on the ship was going to die. So, Paul instructed all the men to climb on the broken pieces of the ship so they could make it to dry land. All of the men survived that night just as the angel had promised. They all made it to dry land. They landed on an island called Melita. When they got to the Island of Melita, all of the men who made it from the ship were cold. So, the people who lived on the Island of Melita started fires so that the men would get warm.

Apparently, the apostle Paul was also cold. So, he walked up to the fire, and a snake jumped out of the fire and bit Paul on his hand. The snake that bit Paul was a venomous snake called a viper. But when the viper bit Paul, Paul was not afraid. He shook that viper off and made him fall back into the fire. What am I saying? I am saying that God gave Paul power over that snake. The venom from that snake was no match for the power of God. The venom of Satan is no match for the power of God. You don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have to be filled with anger. You don’t have to be paralyzed and ruled by fear. You have the power to shake the devil off. It reminds me of the song that Dorothy Norwood is well known for sing, and it says, “Shake, shake shake! Shake the devil off! Shake, shake, shake! Shake the devil off! In the name of Jesus, shake the devil off! He’s under my feet! Shake devil off. In the name of Jesus, shake the devil off.” The enemy is under your feet. You have access through Jesus Christ to cry Abba Father. You have power from God that is way more powerful than the powers of the enemy. You have the love of Christ in your heart, and you have the knowledge and wisdom to exercise self-control.

Let us pray,

Heavenly Father, thank you for the power you have given us over fear and over all of the powers of the enemy. Thank you for the love you have shown us through the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to remember that you have not given us the spirit of fear, but you have given us your Spirit who gives us power, love, and self-control. Help us to always remember you, and remind us to breathe when the enemy’s forces try to intimidate and destroy us. You are our hope. You are our Abba. In Jesus’s name,

Amen,