BREATH OF HEAVEN

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. … I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18 NIV

Just finished our Christmas cantata. The solo highlight was the classic, Breath of Heaven.

Mary, weary and feeling inadequate, sang her prayer. Did God doubt His choice of her, she wondered. Was she up to the task? Whatever, she decided, whether she was enough or not, she was and would be His willing servant. She pleaded for His help: hold me together; stay with me; cover me.

Compared to Mary’s assignment, ours seem small. After all, hers was foundational—she bore the Heart of God’s plan—but none of us is given an inconsequential task. God doesn’t waste His resources.

The Child Mary carried was the Cornerstone. We are living stones being built on that Stone into a holy Temple.

OK, our jobs are important. Are we really up to the task? It isn’t that we doubt the wisdom of His staffing choices. He’s the God who invented and defined wisdom. It’s that we know ourselves. We know how small we are, how flawed, how inadequate, how unprepared.

No need to fear; we won’t fail. The all-powerful God who saw Mary through is living in us, working through us, breathing out the breath of His own holiness, working all things for the good of those who love Him—and forgiving us again and again.

A living temple… Wow.

Am I a doorpost? A roof beam? A sunny window? Or, am I the smallest letter on the welcome sign out front? Doesn’t matter, as long as I’m faithful to the end.

Avi, You said You wouldn’t give us more than we can bear. As long as we give our burdens to You, we will stand and not be crushed by their weight. I’m Yours, Avi, and here, today, I give You my treasures and my burdens. I give You my weariness, my discouragement, my confusion. And when I take them back to worry over them a little more, please forgive me and remind me that You are the One who will carry me and my load. Hold me together, stay with me, cover me. In Your holy name, Amen.