"God's Breath Brings Life" | January 4, 2026 | Ps Joel Lowery

There's something powerful about beginnings. A new year stretches before us like an unmarked canvas, full of potential and promise. Yet if we're honest, many of us approach it with a mixture of hope and weariness. We've made resolutions before. We've committed to change. And we've watched those commitments fade like morning mist by mid-February.

Perhaps the problem isn't our lack of willpower. Perhaps it's that we're trying to create life through our own strength rather than receiving it through God's breath.

The Pattern of Divine Life

From the very beginning, God established a pattern for how life comes into being. Genesis 2:7 shows us this blueprint: "Then the Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person."

Notice the sequence: God forms, God breathes, and then life happens.

Adam didn't earn this breath. He didn't perform rituals or prove his worthiness. He simply received what God freely gave. This is a revolutionary concept in a world obsessed with earning, achieving, and proving ourselves. God offers humanity life by breath, not life by performance.

This same pattern repeats throughout Scripture and throughout our lives. When God gives us dreams and visions, He's forming something. When He orchestrates circumstances that draw us toward Him, He's forming something. When He places desires in our hearts for ministry, family, or purpose, He's forming something. But formation alone isn't enough. It requires the breath of God to bring it to life.

When Everything Feels Dead

But what happens when life feels absent? When passion has dried up? When the things that once excited us about faith now feel like empty routines? When we're going through the motions but feeling nothing?

This is where the prophet Ezekiel's vision becomes deeply personal. God led him to a valley filled with dry bones - scattered, lifeless, and completely without hope. It's a haunting image that many of us can relate to spiritually. We've all had seasons where our spiritual lives felt like that valley.

God asked Ezekiel a piercing question: "Can these bones become living people again?"

Ezekiel's response reveals wisdom: "Oh Sovereign Lord, you alone know the answer to that."

Then came God's instruction: speak to the bones. Declare life over death. Prophesy breath into what appears hopeless.

What's remarkable is what God didn't do. He didn't rebuke the bones for being dead. He didn't lecture them about how they should have known better. He didn't remind them of all the times He'd been faithful before. He simply spoke life.

As Ezekiel obeyed, something extraordinary happened. There was a rattling noise. Bones came together. Muscles and flesh formed. Skin covered the bodies. But they still weren't alive - not until the breath came. Then Ezekiel spoke again, calling breath from the four winds, and suddenly a vast army stood where death had reigned.

The Message of Hope

This vision wasn't just about Israel's restoration from exile. It's about every person who's ever felt spiritually dead. It's about every believer who's wandered away and wondered if they could ever come back. It's about everyone sitting in the aftermath of poor decisions, wondering if there's still hope.

The answer thunders through Scripture: Yes. There is always hope. If God is still breathing and you're still breathing, there is hope.

The breath of God doesn't just create life - it recreates it. It resurrects what seemed beyond saving. It restores what we thought was permanently broken. This means that your season of burnout doesn't have to be the end of your story. Your wandering doesn't disqualify you from God's purposes. Your mistakes don't put you beyond the reach of His restoration.

Empowered for Purpose

After His resurrection, Jesus gathered His disciples and did something profound. John 20:22 tells us: "Then he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"

Jesus was recreating that Genesis moment. He was saying, "You're about to live a new kind of life. You're going to do things you've never done before. You're going to need power beyond your own. So receive the Holy Spirit."

Notice again: receive. Not earn. Not achieve through discipline. Not prove yourself worthy. Simply receive.

The breath of God doesn't just create and recreate - it empowers. It gives purpose. It transforms ordinary people into world-changers. It takes our limitations and infuses them with divine possibility.

Living on Fresh Air

The challenge for many believers is that we try to live on old air. We rely on past encounters with God, old revelations, yesterday's manna. We replace dependence on God with religious discipline. We substitute relationship for routine. We keep moving and doing, but we stop truly breathing in His presence.

This is why seasons of intentional prayer and fasting matter so much. They're not about earning God's favor or proving our devotion. They're about positioning ourselves to receive fresh breath. They're about putting up our sails to catch the wind of the Spirit.

When we deny ourselves - whether it's food, caffeine, social media, or whatever God leads us to fast - we're creating space. We're saying, "God, I want You more than I want this comfort. I need Your breath more than I need this habit."

Courage and Clarity for the Journey

Living by the breath of God requires both courage and clarity. Courage to step into the adventure God invites us into. Courage to take risks rather than play it safe. Courage to believe that God can do more through our surrendered lives than we could ever accomplish through our striving.

And clarity - clear understanding of who we are, where we're going, and what God is calling us to. Not clarity we manufacture through strategic planning, but clarity that comes when God breathes and speaks.

A faith lived solely on our own strength becomes boring and burdensome. But a life lived in constant dependence on God's breath? That's an adventure. That's a story worth living.

The Invitation

So here's the invitation: stop trying to manufacture life through performance. Stop rowing harder when what you need is wind in your sails. Position yourself to receive.

Come to God with empty hands and open hearts. Whether you're spiritually dead and need Him to create life in you for the first time, or you're feeling dry and need Him to resurrect passion and purpose, or you're simply ready for fresh direction and power - He's ready to breathe.

The same God who breathed life into Adam, who called an army out of dry bones, who empowered frightened disciples to change the world - that same God wants to breathe into you today.

All you have to do is receive.