Read: Acts 17:22-31
. . . nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. (v. 25)
No crying filled the delivery room when I was born. I did not get enough air during the birth process and I came into this world not breathing. The doctor gave me oxygen as soon as he could. However, the parts of my brain that make it possible to do fine motor activities like balancing, walking, and talking were already damaged. About a year later, a doctor diagnosed me as having cerebral palsy.
Thanks to the doctor’s quick thinking in giving me oxygen, I was able to live. But wait a minute, the doctor didn’t create the oxygen. Only God can create air, and he alone gives life and breath. The doctor only used what God had already given.
When Paul was in Athens, he looked around. He was saddened when he saw many different altars to pagan gods—even one to an unknown god. Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and told the people there about the one true God—the God who gives men life and breath and everything else.
How many of us are grateful for every breath of air we breathe? If you are like me, I hardly ever think to thank God for the breath of life. James says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). That includes the gift of oxygen. —Steven Laman
As you pray, thank God for the gift of life.
About the Author
Steven Laman is a writer and public speaker who has lived with cerebral palsy since his birth in 1970. Steven is a prolific devotional writer for Words of Hope, and the author of three books: My Journey God’s Grace, Strength in Weakness and My Grace Is Sufficient. He also volunteers as a teacher’s aide. He lives with his parents in Iowa.
