Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. - Ezekiel 37:5 ESV
I. Cant. Breathe. Those three words have so much power. They’ve been echoing through my mind since last week. I'm not going to lie, this past week has been tough, and I debated whether I was going to post a devotional at all. I'm hurt, angry, emotional, hopeful, hopeless, challenged, tired, scared, and inspired all at the same time. For some, the phrase “I Can’t Breathe” started with Eric Gardner, who suffered an unjustifiable death in the New York City borough of Staten Island after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold during an arrest. In the video footage, Garner is heard saying "I can't breathe" 11 times while lying face down on the sidewalk before his death. Some encountered the phrase due to the recent death of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds after he had been handcuffed. Video of the incident shows Floyd repeating "Please," "I can't breathe," and "Don't kill me" prior to his unjustified death. For others, especially those in the African American community, the phrase “I Can’t Breathe” captures the crushing weight we’ve lived with our entire lives, echoing over the past 400 years.
I. Cant. Breathe.
According to Mariam-Webster Dictionary “breathe” means to “inhale and exhale freely,” and “to feel free from restraint,” amongst other things. Due to overt, covert, institutionalized, and systematic racism, we in the African American community struggle live a life where we are able to inhale and exhale freely and to feel free from restraints society places upon us. Some of us fight for breath every day. We have “The Talk” with our children at a young age providing instructions on what to do, and what not to do, when they encounter police officers. (We are very aware that not all police officers are corrupt officers who abide their power but we are also aware ) We are subjected to unnecessary labels, racial profiling, bias in corporate America, unwarranted comments, and systemic bureaucracy and red tape when we attempt to engage in business development or obtain business loans.
I. Cant. Breathe.
The ability to breathe is essential for life, your life, my life, our lives. None of us can live if we can breathe. Ezekiel 37:5 states, “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” The Declaration of Independence, issued on July 4, 1776, proclaims, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The right to live and the right to breathe is embedded in Biblical scripture and America’s founding documents. While the United States celebrated its declaration of independence from Britain’s rule, slaves were still fighting for their right to breathe, their right to live, their right to happiness, as the Emancipation Proclamation was not issued until January 1, 1863. However, God does not have favorites and there is no respect of persons with God (Romans 2:11). He does not value one person’s breath more than another. He desires that we all have life.
I. Cant. Breathe.
Plainly put, this is a human issue. It’s not a black or a white issue. John 10:10 states “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” It is God’s desire for us ALL to have breath and live an abundant life. We all just want to live. We want to live while we are sleeping (Breonna Taylor), playing video games with our nephew (Atatiana Jefferson), jogging (Ahmed Aubrey), and begging for our life while under restraint (George Floyd). Sean Reed, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Botham Jean, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Keith Childress, Stephon Clark, Aiyana Stanely-Jones, Walter Scott, Antwon Rose, Jr., Keith Scott, Jonathon Ferrall, Jordan Edwards, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Terrance Crutcher, John Crawford, Oscar Grant, Eric Gardner, and Corey Jones, and the list goes on and on, all just wanted to live. Your life, my life, our lives have value.
You. Cant. Breathe.
If we are honest, we all have experienced at least one moment in life in which circumstances, losses, and situations made us feel like we couldn’t breathe. It could have been the death of a loved one, a heartache, a betrayal, a disappointment, or a loss. Some of us are still holding on to hurts, pains, losses, guilt, shame, anger, relationships, perspectives, and fear that is hindering our breathing process and crippling our purpose. We have to let it go. God wants ALL of us to be free from anything that keeps us from fulfilling our purpose in Him.
We. Cant. Breathe.
We are many members of one body. We are all connected. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:26). If I can’t breathe, WE can’t breathe. If George Floyd can’t breathe, WE can’t breathe. If YOU can’t breathe, WE can’t breathe. Injustice is a human issue. When one member of the body hurts, the whole body is affected. Something as simple as a papercut on my finger can impede my effectiveness as I type, write, try to grip things, etc. If a part of my body is injured, I do what I need to do to care for it so it can heal. Sometimes healing requires ointment and a band-aid, sometimes it requires full-blown surgery, and sometimes it requires extensive physical therapy. However, the longer we ignore that broken, hurt, or injured body part, the worse it gets. If we continue to ignore the issue, the pain will get so bad that it’s unbearable, and by the time we finally seek the medical attention the injury is worse off than it was when it started.
1 Corinthians 12: 14-26 sums this up perfectly as it states:
Certainly, the body isn’t one part but many. If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the ear says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not an eye,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body just like he wanted. If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? But as it is, there are many parts but one body. So, the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or in turn, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” Instead, the parts of the body that people think are the weakest are the most necessary. The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we honor the most. The private parts of our body that aren’t presentable are the ones that are given the most dignity. The parts of our body that are presentable don’t need this. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the part with less honor so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it.
We are hurting. The African American community is suffering and needs healing. America is suffering and needs healing. I need healing. We are suffering and need healing.
I. Cant. Breathe.
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