Eat Pray Love Or Breathe Eat Run

Breathe, Eat, Run

Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir, Eat, Love, Pray, (if you can call a story by a 30 something a memoir) retells her journey from a marriage and existence in which she was very sad, to learning to eat in Italy, pray in the east, and love again.

Its interesting, but it's also the journey of a person of means and out of reach to most people. Not that the feelings she wrote about are out of reach but gee, half the fun is the travel right?

The word of God leads us in a different direction to fulfillment. Not to criticize Italian food by any means but there IS a better food out there to be had.

But before we eat we must breathe.

The essential element, not only of life but also of growth, is breathing.

God uses breath, wind and breathing often to demonstrate His presence and existence.

And breathing is not only essential for physical life but also for our spiritual lives.

Consider these scriptures:

Gen 2:7  then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man

became a living creature.

Psa 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Joh 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Act 2:2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...

We need to breathe in the breath of God; His Spirit, through His word, His grace, and His presence. When we pray, meditate on the Lord or His word, when we attune our ears to His voice; when we worship and exalt, or poor out bitter tears to Him, we are breathing.

After Breathing, We must eat to live and to grow. Our feeding, our nourishment is His Word. It sustains us and builds us up.

Consider these verses:

1Pe 2:2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation--

Heb 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

Jer 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.

1Co 3:2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,

Jesus also said, Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 

That's another clear reference to God's word being our spiritual food. We have to eat. It's a necessity for Growth and life. We cannot starve ourselves from God's word and expect to thrive!

But after all that eating we need to exercise, so I say Run! Run with the Wind (breath, Spirit). 

1Ti 4:7 But refuse profane and old-womanish tales, and exercise yourself to godliness.

Act 24:16 And in this I exercise myself, always to have a blameless conscience toward God and men.

1Co 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.

There are many ways to use that food and breath you have been receiving. Exercise your Faith in God. Exercise your lips and speak for God. Exercise your talents, time, temple, and treasure for God.

But don't, whatever you do, eat and eat without exercising. Then you become a Phat Pharisee!

But Before you can Breathe in His Presence, and Eat up His Word, and Run in the strength of God, you must be born. There is no ongoing life without birth and there is no Growth without birth. Birth only comes by the wooing love of God, that draws us to Himself and by repentance from sin and self, and through faith in the Lord Christ, we are saved by His grace!