God, breathe on me

I'm writing as I sit in front of a campfire in my backyard. A few minutes ago, I was listening to the sounds of crickets and the crackling of the burning wood, watching the fire slowly lose its strength and turning to glowing embers.
As I leaned over and blew on the glowing embers, a small flame emerged. It was in that moment, that the following passage came to mind...
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:21, 22 NIV)
That is what I need. I need God to breathe on the embers of my heart. I need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to be breathed into me.
I don't think I'm alone. I see followers of Christ whose fire for God has turned to smoldering embers. So often, we seek revival the American way. We try to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps or use our education, strength, or determination to make things better.
God can and will use those things, but they are not the source of life or strength. Like the smoldering embers of the campfire in my backyard, they need something, or rather, Someone, to breathe new life into them.
It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can be revived. Whether it's an individual, a congregation, or the church universal, we need to let go of the bootstraps, lay down our self-determination, and drop to our knees in prayer.
God, breathe on me.
God, breathe on us.

shine!
Jason