Breathe in Deeper

The other day I was listening to a song by the David Crowder Band called "Do Not Move".  It is probably one of my favorite songs of all time.  The song begins by saying, "I don't want to move and I don't think I could."  After this refrain, the song beings to crescendo, building into the verse that declares, "Breathe in deeper now.  Breathe in deeper now.  Breathe in deeper, breathe in now."  Whenever I hear this song, I imagine myself looking out over this beautiful landscape with the sun beating on my face as it begins to set.  I imagine myself with my arms spread wide and witnessing the holiness of this place.

Every time, I consider just taking a drive out to some remote place and breathing in the beauty of it.  To stand on a mountaintop looking out on God's creation, what can possibly compare?  There is certainly something inspiring about those, "out of the ordinary" experiences.  Those times in life where you can look out and see God's beauty feeling almost as though you are in Eden itself.  It is so inspiring in fact that I find myself often daydreaming about going somewhere remote and beautiful and having some incredible adventure.  Then I'm reminded that the Christian journey is not simply these mountaintop experiences, but rather a moment by moment surrender to God.  You see while these moments are great and can deeply inspire us, God asks us to stay in each moment.

When God created the world, He said, "It is good."  What He did not say was, "That's good, but that's really just ordinary."  He called all of creation good.  I get so caught up sometimes in wanting to be somewhere that takes my breath away or have some grand adventure that I miss out on the beauty right in front of me.  I miss out on the opportunities that God has for me that are all around me.  I wonder how many times have I done this.  How many times have I take my own situation for granted? How often have I told myself that the grass is greener on the other side?  This isn't to say that mountaintop experiences aren't useful, but rather that if we begin to gain a new perspective on our lives that we will begin to appreciate the beauty in the ordinary.  We are constantly filled with the presence of God.  He surrounds us, comforts us, listens to us, and hears us even when we don't think He does.  What we call ordinary, He calls beautiful.  It is amazing that we don't constantly go through our day in awe and wonder at creation.  That we don't wake up with a song on our lips and a constant joy in our hearts.  Being constantly filled and sustained by God, that is the real mountaintop experience.  When we live in an intimate relationship with Christ, we are constantly in His presence.  May we breathe in deeper.