Breathe the Holy Breath and Be a Warrior

I hope everyone is safe and sound after the two earthquakes on Friday. Even though it was only 4.8 magnitude, for those born and raised on the East Coast, that was the strongest earthquake they had ever experienced in their lifetime. So, some were extremely shaken by the experience. Pun intended! Paul said,

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks. (Heb 12:28a).

Everything on earth can be shaken except the kingdom of God. You are blessed to live in New Jersey, where disasters are rare compared to many places in the country.

I have experienced many earthquakes like this while living in Burma and California. I was taught to stay away from tall buildings during an earthquake as far as possible.

So, as soon as I felt the earthquake, I got outside the house immediately. Then, I found out it was pretty cold, so I came back in to put on some warm clothes. By then, the quake had stopped.

How do you prepare for an earthquake? The least you can do is not to put heavy stuff on top of the cabinets or high places because they could fall on your head. If you can’t run outside, the bathroom is a safer hiding space because it has more walls and pipelines to support the structure.

Most importantly, learn to maintain a peaceful state of mind or serenity during chaos. I usually don’t panic because of past experiences. But, this time, I panicked because of the strong earthquakes in Taiwan just days ago. However, I resumed my composure immediately by regulating my breathing.

If you have serenity, you can make better decisions even if you have never been taught what to do. How do you maintain serenity in chaos? How to eliminate fear and resume composure as soon as possible.

Tomorrow, we are expecting a rare solar eclipse in our area. That could trigger some anxiety in people asking what’s going on in the world. Earthquakes and eclipses?

The good news is that Jesus taught the disciples exactly what to do after his resurrection. They were in fear when their master was crucified. They worry they could be next. So, they hid themselves in a room and kept the door locked.

When Mary Magdalene came to tell them that Jesus had risen, they couldn’t believe it and sank deeper into fear because it was abnormal for someone to rise from the dead, even though Jesus had told them many times before. They thought Jesus came back as a ghost.

So, today, we will learn how Jesus taught us to handle panic, fear, and anxiety based on what he told the disciples to do. There are three components. The main part is to breathe the Holy Breath. Let’s begin!