What I Need Most

I was out for my morning run today, finishing up a 4-miler where I was pushing my pace a little harder than usual, when Lincoln Brewster's song "Oxygen" came on my MP3 player. The chorus of the song is, "You are life every breath/ You're the heart beating in my chest/ I breathe out and breathe You in/ I need You more than oxygen."

It was the last line that caught my attention. "I don't know," I thought wryly, breathing heavily while striving to finish the run, "I need oxygen pretty badly right now!"

But the truth of the statement struck me: I do need Jesus more than I need oxygen. We all do, but I think we often will busy ourselves by focusing on our immediate needs - the urgent rather than the important. Yes, we need health, and shelter, and safety, and all that - but it's all ultimately meaningless without a relationship with God. And not only for "someday in the future" or "after I die" - I need His strength and presence and power daily - hourly (...is "minutely" a word?) 

The challenge for me (and I'm guessing for all of us) is to be aware of my dependence on God all the time. 

Think about that the next time you're out of breath.