"Unclogging Our Connection to God's Life-Giving Breath" | January 11, 2026 | Ps Joel Lowery

Have you ever felt spiritually dry? Like reading Scripture feels more like a chore than a conversation? Where serving in church has lost its joy and become just another obligation on your calendar? If you're nodding along, you're not alone. Many believers find themselves in seasons where the vibrancy of their faith seems to have faded to a dull gray.

But here's the truth that might surprise you: when we feel spiritually depleted, it's rarely because God has stopped speaking or stopped breathing life into us. Instead, we've simply gotten clogged up.

The Problem of Spiritual Blockage

Think about a car's catalytic converter. When it's working properly, air flows freely through the engine, allowing the vehicle to run smoothly. But when it gets clogged - when debris builds up and restricts airflow - the car sputters, slows down, and eventually can barely move forward. The engine is still running. The fuel is still there. But something is blocking the flow.

Our spiritual lives work remarkably similarly. God is still breathing. He's still speaking. His Spirit is still moving. But somewhere along the way, our ability to receive what He's offering has become restricted.

The question isn't whether God is present or active. The question is: what's blocking our connection to Him?

Two Trees, Two Sources of Life

To understand this spiritual dynamic, we need to go back to the beginning - to the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 2, we read about two significant trees God placed in the garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

These weren't just random vegetation. They represented something profound: a choice of source.

The tree of life represented life received - a life of dependence, trust, and relationship with God. It symbolized the posture of saying, "God, You are King. You lead, and I follow. I depend on You to provide everything I need."

The tree of knowledge of good and evil represented life decided - a life of control, self-reliance, and performance. It was the option to say, "I'll decide what's right. I'll manage my own life. I don't need anyone telling me what to do."

From humanity's very beginning, we've faced this choice: Will we receive life from God, or will we try to manufacture it ourselves?

The serpent's temptation wasn't really about fruit. It was about questioning God's goodness and convincing Eve that she could be like God - knowing good and evil, making her own decisions, controlling her own destiny. And when she and Adam ate, they didn't just break a rule. They chose a different source of life.

The consequences were immediate. Suddenly, instead of receiving freely from God, they had to work and strive. Instead of walking in intimate relationship with their Creator, they hid in shame. The airways of communion with God became clogged with self-sufficiency.

Three Ways We Block God's Breath

Throughout Scripture, we see patterns of how believers restrict the flow of God's life-giving breath. Here are three primary blockages:

1. Control Replaces Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

Notice the emphasis: all your heart. Not just the parts that feel safe. Not just the areas where you're confused. All of it.

Control always restricts oxygen. When we grip tightly to our plans, our timelines, and our preferences, we leave no room for God to breathe fresh direction into our lives. We become like people trying to breathe through a straw - technically getting air, but nowhere near the fullness we were designed for.

Trusting God means releasing control, especially when we don't understand. It means taking steps of obedience even when the path ahead isn't clear. It means believing that God knows better than we do, even when everything in us wants to take the wheel.

2. Knowledge Replaces Dependence

Knowledge isn't bad. God gives knowledge. But knowledge without God's breath produces pride, pressure, and performance.

Here's a sobering truth: most Christians don't need more knowledge. They need more obedience. We can quote verses about forgiveness but struggle to actually forgive. We know what Scripture says about generosity but keep our wallets closed. We understand the call to love our neighbors but remain isolated in our comfortable bubbles.

In Galatians 3:3, Paul asks the pointed question: "How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?"

We can become so impressed with our own wisdom, so focused on accumulating information about God, that we forget to actually depend on Him. We study the menu instead of eating the meal. We analyze the map instead of taking the journey.

God invites us into dependence - not because we're weak, but because we're wise enough to recognize that the Creator of the universe might know more than we do.

3. Religion Replaces Relationship

Rules without relationship don't bring life. They bring exhaustion.

Jesus' harshest words were reserved for the Pharisees - religious leaders who had perfected the art of looking holy on the outside while their hearts remained far from God. He called them "whitewashed tombs," beautiful on the exterior but full of death on the inside.

In John 5:39-40, Jesus confronted them directly: "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me, and yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life."

They had all the knowledge. They followed all the rules. They maintained appearances. But they missed the entire point: relationship with Jesus is the source of life.

Religion says, "Do better. Try harder. Follow these steps." Relationship says, "Come closer."

The Invitation to Come Closer

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus extends this beautiful invitation: "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Notice He doesn't say, "Work harder." He doesn't say, "Figure it out." He says, "Come."

God never moves. He never changes. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. So if we don't hear Him, if we don't feel Him, it's not because He's changed or moved away. It's because we have.

The good news? We can move back. We can draw near again.

Choosing Life Received Over Life Decided

Every day, we face the same choice Adam and Eve faced in the garden: Which tree will we eat from today?

Will we choose control or trust? Knowledge or dependence? Religion or relationship?

Fresh air flows when we stop trying to control and manage our lives and start receiving from God again. When we trade our white-knuckled grip for open, surrendered hands. When we exchange our impressive knowledge for childlike dependence. When we let go of religious performance and lean into genuine relationship.

God loves to breathe life into His children. He loves to see us thrive. He designed us for intimacy with Him, for a life that flows from His goodness rather than our striving.

The airways might be clogged right now. You might feel spiritually dry, tired, and worn out. But God hasn't stopped breathing. He's simply inviting you to come closer, to remove the blockages, to receive the fresh air He's been offering all along.

What would it look like today to choose the tree of life? To release control and trust Him? To depend on Him rather than your own understanding? To pursue relationship over religious performance?

The breath of God is available. The question is: are you ready to receive it?