When You Breathe

Image by Nanda Dian Prata, Unsplash

Some words stop me in my tracks. 

They have a way of affecting me deeply and changing the way I look at things—the way I look at life. 

The words I recently heard by Sandra Thurman Caporale did that for me. They turned my day upside down, brought me to that space before my Creator, and gave me a sweet glimpse of Him in a new and fresh way.

I pray you are equally moved.

YHWH

There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what His name is.

God was gracious enough to answer, and the name He gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.

Over time, we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” to get Yahweh, presumably because we have a preference for vowels. But scholars and rabbis have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing. YH (inhale), WH (exhale).

So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.

A deep sigh calls His NAME—or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.

So when I can’t utter anything else, is my cry calling out His name?

Even an atheist would speak His name, their very breath giving constant acknowledgement to God.

Likewise, a person leaves this Earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filling their lungs.

Being alive—breathing—means I speak his name constantly.

Is it heard the loudest when I’m the quietest?

In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs.

In joy our lungs feel almost like they will burst.

In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.

When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage.

When I think about it, breathing is giving Him praise. Even in the hardest moments!

This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought.

God chose to give Himself a Name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive.

All of us, always, everywhere. 

Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the Name of God on our lips.

—Sandra Thurman Caporale