The Songs We Sing: Breathe
Have you ever caught yourself holding your breath without even realizing it? Maybe you're waiting for news, watching someone you love struggle, or trying to keep everything together when life feels overwhelming. Sometimes our bodies reveal what our hearts have been carrying long before we find the words for it.
This Saturday, I found myself doing exactly that.
On the way to James' soccer game, we listened to “Breathe” by Maverick City Music. We talked about how to breathe through anxiety and frustration and how to remember that God is with us, even when things feel hard. It seemed like the perfect conversation for the day.
Then the game started.
James' team had an incredibly rough game. The other team was playing hard, and at times, not exactly playing fair. I watched James work so hard to stop them from scoring, doing everything he could while the pressure kept coming. And somewhere along the way, I realized I was holding my breath.
Apparently, talking about breathing and actually remembering to do it are two very different things!
As I stood there watching, I thought about the song we'd just listened to. How easy it is to sing about trusting God when we're in the car on the way to something, and how much harder it can be to live that out when we're right in the middle of the moment.
But somewhere during that game, I started breathing again. I stopped letting the frustration take over and began turning it into prayer and praise. I praised God for the opportunity these boys had to learn something beyond soccer—for the chance to practice perseverance, show good sportsmanship when things weren't going their way, and choose what kind of hearts they wanted to carry onto that field.
And then I had even more to praise Him for. Despite the difficult game, the boys kept their attitudes and their hearts turned toward God. They finished by praying for the other team. What a beautiful reminder that the way we respond to difficult moments can matter far more than the outcome itself.
One of the central messages of “Breathe” is that this is why we have breath: to praise the Lord. Not just when life is going our way, when prayers are answered the way we hoped, or when everything feels peaceful. We have breath to praise Him in the waiting, in the frustration, in the uncertainty, and even in the moments when we have to remind ourselves to take the next breath.
The song calls us to release our heavy burdens. That doesn't mean our worries magically disappear or that we stop caring about the things happening around us. It means we stop trying to carry everything in our own strength. We bring our anxiety to God. We surrender our need to control the outcome. And we make room for Him to remind us of what is true.
Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Every breath is an invitation. We can use it to complain, argue, worry, and replay everything that went wrong—or we can turn that same breath into a prayer of surrender, a word of encouragement, or a song of praise.
And I love that this song acknowledges that sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes He lets it rain. Faith doesn't guarantee that every difficult situation will resolve the way we want. But we can trust that God is present in both circumstances, giving us strength when we need it and reminding us that He is worthy of our praise regardless of what happens around us.
Maybe you're facing a difficult situation right now. Maybe you're worried about your children, frustrated by circumstances outside your control, or exhausted from trying to hold everything together. When you feel yourself holding your breath, let that be your reminder to pause. Breathe in His goodness. Release what you're carrying. Turn your worry into prayer and your next breath into praise.
Because praise isn't just our response when everything goes right. Praise is a choice we can make even when it doesn't.
And sometimes, the greatest victory of the day has nothing to do with the scoreboard. Sometimes it's a heart that chooses grace over frustration, prayer over anger, and praise over worry.
We don't have to wait for the storm to pass to praise the One who walks through it with us.
A Prayer for the Week
Lord, thank You for the gift of breath and the reminder that every breath is an opportunity to praise You. When anxiety rises and frustration takes over, help us release our burdens and turn our hearts toward You. Teach us to trust You in both the storms and the calm, and help us model Your grace in the way we respond to others. May our words, our attitudes, and even our hardest moments become opportunities to glorify You. Amen.
This Saturday, I found myself doing exactly that.
On the way to James' soccer game, we listened to “Breathe” by Maverick City Music. We talked about how to breathe through anxiety and frustration and how to remember that God is with us, even when things feel hard. It seemed like the perfect conversation for the day.
Then the game started.
James' team had an incredibly rough game. The other team was playing hard, and at times, not exactly playing fair. I watched James work so hard to stop them from scoring, doing everything he could while the pressure kept coming. And somewhere along the way, I realized I was holding my breath.
Apparently, talking about breathing and actually remembering to do it are two very different things!
As I stood there watching, I thought about the song we'd just listened to. How easy it is to sing about trusting God when we're in the car on the way to something, and how much harder it can be to live that out when we're right in the middle of the moment.
But somewhere during that game, I started breathing again. I stopped letting the frustration take over and began turning it into prayer and praise. I praised God for the opportunity these boys had to learn something beyond soccer—for the chance to practice perseverance, show good sportsmanship when things weren't going their way, and choose what kind of hearts they wanted to carry onto that field.
And then I had even more to praise Him for. Despite the difficult game, the boys kept their attitudes and their hearts turned toward God. They finished by praying for the other team. What a beautiful reminder that the way we respond to difficult moments can matter far more than the outcome itself.
One of the central messages of “Breathe” is that this is why we have breath: to praise the Lord. Not just when life is going our way, when prayers are answered the way we hoped, or when everything feels peaceful. We have breath to praise Him in the waiting, in the frustration, in the uncertainty, and even in the moments when we have to remind ourselves to take the next breath.
The song calls us to release our heavy burdens. That doesn't mean our worries magically disappear or that we stop caring about the things happening around us. It means we stop trying to carry everything in our own strength. We bring our anxiety to God. We surrender our need to control the outcome. And we make room for Him to remind us of what is true.
Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Every breath is an invitation. We can use it to complain, argue, worry, and replay everything that went wrong—or we can turn that same breath into a prayer of surrender, a word of encouragement, or a song of praise.
And I love that this song acknowledges that sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes He lets it rain. Faith doesn't guarantee that every difficult situation will resolve the way we want. But we can trust that God is present in both circumstances, giving us strength when we need it and reminding us that He is worthy of our praise regardless of what happens around us.
Maybe you're facing a difficult situation right now. Maybe you're worried about your children, frustrated by circumstances outside your control, or exhausted from trying to hold everything together. When you feel yourself holding your breath, let that be your reminder to pause. Breathe in His goodness. Release what you're carrying. Turn your worry into prayer and your next breath into praise.
Because praise isn't just our response when everything goes right. Praise is a choice we can make even when it doesn't.
And sometimes, the greatest victory of the day has nothing to do with the scoreboard. Sometimes it's a heart that chooses grace over frustration, prayer over anger, and praise over worry.
We don't have to wait for the storm to pass to praise the One who walks through it with us.
A Prayer for the Week
Lord, thank You for the gift of breath and the reminder that every breath is an opportunity to praise You. When anxiety rises and frustration takes over, help us release our burdens and turn our hearts toward You. Teach us to trust You in both the storms and the calm, and help us model Your grace in the way we respond to others. May our words, our attitudes, and even our hardest moments become opportunities to glorify You. Amen.
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