I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  Psalm 139:14-16
 
 
Recently, Dictionary.com's word for the day was "apatetic".  A new word for me, apatetic means "assuming colors and forms that effect deceptive camouflage".  Typically a zoology term, apatetic applies to humans as well as animals.
 
As I pondered my new vocabulary word, I realized that sometimes I am apatetic.  Often I hide my true self.  Usually it's not intentional.  It mostly depends on how I connect with others in relationship with me.  Perhaps I hide my real identity in an effort to self-protect.  Not because I don't want to be open and honest, but because I feel the need to protect myself from the hurtful and destructive behaviors of those who do not have my best interests at heart.  In hiding my true self, I feel safe.  Perhaps I bend to others' wishes, either to keep the peace, avoid conflict, or to please.  By doing so, I push down deep inside me the real person I am.  Eventually, in unhealthy relationships, I indeed lose who I am.  I become who they need me to be.  I become who they want me to be.  But where is the person God intended me to be?
 
Psalm 139 says God lives in the secret place where He created me.  I was not hidden from Him then.  Neither am I unseen by Him now.  God lives in that safe abode where my real being dwells.  He alone knows my true soul.
 
Verse 16 says "all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  God has ordained each of my days.  He knew my journey, my destiny, even before He created me.  There are no surprises with God.  He is weaving the fallout from unhealthy relationships together in such a way as to create in me a tapestry, beautiful, yet fiercely spun, of the life He has for me.  Who am I?  I am a child of the King Himself, the Creator-God who is spinning and weaving the threads of my life for His glory and His honor.  Do I, deep in my soul, believe that?  I think so...I hope so…yes, I know so.
 
 
God of Heaven and Earth, I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Continue to create in me the person You intend me to be, not swayed by others but guided by Your loving hand.  Take the brokenness and weave it for good in my life.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
  
 
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Copyright © 2016 by Dawn Dailey.  All rights reserved.
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

“I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak…My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe.”  Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.  “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said.  “Peace!  Be strong now; be strong.”  Daniel 10:16b, 17b-19
 
 
Do you forget to breathe?  In times of distress, I find myself not breathing.  A dear friend told me during a particularly difficult season of life, “Don’t forget to breathe!”  How right she was!  When we are going through trying times, we often forget to inhale deeply.  Ironically, that’s when we need it the most…long, deep breaths, in and out.  Breath that relaxes us.  Breath that takes the focus off of the source of stress.  Breath that indeed gives life.
 
All through the Bible, there are dozens of verses that speak to breath and breathing.   God breathed life into Adam (Genesis 2:7).  At the other end of life, Jacob, the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel, “breathed his last and was gathered to his people” (Genesis 49:33).  God breathed on creation and powerful events happened.  In Exodus 15:10, the power of God was displayed when He blew on the Red Sea causing Pharaoh and his men, who were chasing the Israelites, to drown.  In the New Testament, the risen Jesus breathed on His disciples to give them the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
 
In the book of Daniel, in the 10th chapter, the prophet sees the incarnate Christ and almost faints.  His strength leaves him and he can hardly breathe.  Unlike Daniel, when my strength leaves me and I feel I can hardly breathe, it’s not because I’ve encountered the risen Christ.  But rather it’s because I focus on my circumstances, often running ahead of them to some worse-case-scenario outcome.  I feel overwhelmed.  And I forget to breathe.
 
The angel Gabriel revives Daniel with his touch, giving him both strength, courage, and peace.  If I stop to breathe, to really inhale deeply, perhaps simultaneously praying or meditating, even for a few minutes, my soul revives, my anxiety melts, and my courage returns.  All because I remembered to breathe and I, like Daniel, am touched by the Spirit of God who gives me strength, courage, and peace.
 
When you are facing stressful circumstances, don’t forget to breathe!  God’s power can manifest itself in you when you take a few minutes to breathe, relax, and regain your strength.
 
 
Lord God, You alone have the power to give me strength, courage, and peace.  May I remember to breathe in Your Spirit in the midst of difficult circumstances.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
 
  
Want to subscribe to future posts?  Click here.
 
Copyright © 2016 by Dawn Dailey.  All rights reserved.
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™