Don’t Hold Your Breath

By Lisa Noroña

Do you ever catch yourself holding your breath? As a professional dancer, I was trained to hold my stomach in, to keep my shoulders pulled back, to lift my chest, to point my toes, straighten my legs -- but I was never trained to breathe.

Genesis 2:7 says “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being”. The fact that God breathed life into us sets us apart from all of creation. God not only spoke us into existence, He breathed us into existence.

"And When you speak anointed words, we are speaking mouth to mouth!" (Proverbs 23:16, Passion Translation)

On my journey of learning what it means to dance in His presence, God set up a beautiful moment for me to learn and understand what He did in Genesis 2:7. I was in 2nd year BSSM standing in the back of the room, worshipping with my eyes closed. When I opened them, I saw Pastor Bill sitting a few feet away from me. I felt a nudge in my gut to go over and sit next to him. I didn't have anything to say, so I just sat there as the heat in my belly started to rise. (This is when I know it’s a “God nudge”.)

He looked straight at me, not knowing me, and said, “It's good to see you,” and proceeded to put his arm around me.

As I sat there, somewhat awkwardly, having Bill’s arm pulling me into him, I asked God, What are you doing in this moment? Why did you send me to sit so close to pastor Bill? And this is what God said to me -- a destiny detail I will never forget.

Image by Miguel Salgado

“Daughter, just breathe”.

My awkwardness settled through my breath.

“Now match your breath with his.”

I focused on Bill’s breathing: the rhythm, the length, the pauses, the fluctuations...

Then God said, “Yes. Now this is how you dance with me. I lead you with My breath.”

You see, it's a fact that a dancer must breathe in order to dance. But when a dancer connects their breath with the Breath of Life, the very breath that created us, you are no longer dancing alone. Your body is moving to the heartbeat of heaven. You are dancing in His presence, your dance is bringing heaven to earth.

I invite you to choose the most extravagant dance partner, the One who gave you life. It's a dance you’ll never forget. Welcome to Kingdom Dance.