June 7, 2026 • 16 mins
What if the reason you're stuck isn't a lack of effort...but a lack of God's breath?
Many believers are exhausted from striving, pushing, and trying harder, yet still feel spiritually dry and stagnant. In this episode, our host Paul, delivers a powerful truth from John 20: before Jesus sent His disciples out, He breathed on them.
Before the assignment came the breath.
Discover why God's breath and presence is the difference between merely surviving and truly thriving, what may be keeping you from experiencing more of Him, and how to position yourself for a fresh move of the Holy Spirit.
If you're hungry for more of God, this episode may be exactly what your soul needs right now.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:09):
Welcome and thanks for tuning in to Real People,
Real Talk.
Relevant conversations that takeyou from surviving to thriving.
This is the podcast that goesthere.
My name is Paul Calco, and I'myour host.
Now let's talk.
(00:30):
Well, hello, Thriver, andwelcome to Real People Real
Talk, the podcast ministry thatequips you to thrive
spiritually, relationally, andmentally.
Today's episode falls into thatfirst category of spiritually.
I want to share a devotionalthought with you about something
that every single believerdesperately needs, and that is
(00:53):
the breath of God.
Let me encourage you right here,right now, even in the
introduction with these words.
Listen, when God breathes on aperson, what was ordinary
(01:15):
becomes extraordinary.
What was weak becomes strong.
What was dead becomes alive.
And so with that being said,let's begin with the word of
God.
Give you some context to kind ofset the scene here.
Jesus encounters a few of hisdisciples after you know he has
been crucified, he died, he wasburied, and then he is now
(01:40):
resurrected.
So I'm gonna read for you Johnchapter twenty, verses nineteen
through twenty two.
Hear the word of the Lord.
On the evening of that day, thefirst day of the week, the doors
being locked where the discipleswere for the fear of the Jews.
Jesus came and stood among themand said to them, Peace be with
(02:02):
you.
And when he had said this, heshowed them his hands and his
side.
Then his disciples were gladwhen they saw the Lord.
Verse 21.
Jesus said to them, Peace bewith you, as the Father has sent
me, even so I am sending you.
And when he said that, hebreathed on them and said,
(02:22):
Receive the Holy Spirit.
Let me reread verse 22 foremphasis.
And when he has said this, hebreathed on them and said,
Receive the Holy Spirit.
I don't know about you, but nowmore than ever, I both want and
need God to breathe on me.
(02:44):
I want him and I want you tohave this desire as well, but I
want him to breathe on mymarriage.
I want them to breathe on myministry.
I want them to breathe on mywork.
I want him to breathe on mypersonal ghost.
To be honest, I want God tobreathe on every area and aspect
of my life.
And once again, I hope and praythat you want the same.
(03:05):
When I say God's breath, here'swhat I mean.
Let's get a working definitionat the top of this episode.
God's breath that refers to histouch, his presence, his
guidance, his favor, and hisanointing.
One more time.
When I say God's breath, I'mreferring to God's touch, to his
(03:25):
presence, to his guidance, tohis favor, and to his anointing.
Hear me and hear me well.
You would never accomplishanything significant without the
breath of God.
As a matter of fact, the Bibletells us, and Jesus tells us in
his own words, apart from me,you can do nothing.
(03:49):
Maybe this is a season whereyou're feeling stagnant and dry,
feeling dry and stagnant in yourcareer, or maybe your
relationships, or dare I say,your spiritual life.
Perhaps you've been tryingharder, pushing harder, working
harder, and just grinding, butnothing seems to be moving or
(04:10):
getting better.
That's because you need thebreath of God.
You may say, How can I receivethe breath of God?
That's a good question, andhere's the answer.
You position yourself for God tobreathe on you when you enter
into his presence, okay?
In other words, when you carveout time to spend with him.
(04:32):
With that being said, I bothencourage you and challenge you
to press into the presence ofGod on a daily basis.
And when I say press into hispresence, here's what I mean:
time in the word, time praying,time fasting, time at the feet
of Jesus, just soaking up timein his presence.
(04:57):
Jesus breathed on his disciplesas they were in his presence.
Listen, my friend, as you getclose to God, you put yourself
in a position to be breathed on.
It's imperative that everyonethat names the name of Christ to
(05:18):
do whatever it takes to get intoGod's presence on a daily basis.
No excuses.
As you draw near to God, youposition yourself to receive
what only God can give.
Once again, every believershould make it a priority to get
into God's presence on a dailybasis.
(05:41):
Sitting at His feet, soaking inHis presence, and just spending
time worshiping, praising, andhonoring the Father.
Let's revisit verse 21 and 22.
And Jesus said to them, Peace bewith you, as the Father has sent
me, even so I am sending you.
(06:03):
And when he had said this, Jesusbreathed on them and said to
them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
Before he sent them, he filledthem.
Before the assignment came thebreath.
Before the mission came theempowerment, and before the work
came the presence of God.
(06:24):
I think you know where I'm goingwith this.
Here's a powerful reminder forall of us today.
Before we can accomplishanything great, before we can
accomplish anything worthwhile,before we can be successful in
this life, we first need God tobreathe on us.
(06:44):
Many people are trying tofulfill God's purpose in their
own strength.
They're striving when theyshould be abiding.
They're pushing when they shouldbe praying, and they're grinding
when they should be seeking God.
So take some time to be at hisfeet, in his presence, so the
(07:05):
Lord can breathe on you.
And here's what happened whenyou're in his presence.
God can breathe wisdom, He canbreathe creativity, He can
breathe fresh ideas, strategy,and so much more.
Man, listen, like a fish needswater, I need the breath of God
in my life.
Like fire needs wood, I need thebreath of God in my life.
(07:28):
Like a tree needs soul, I needthe breath of God in my life.
Because it's the breath of Godthat empowers you, enables you,
and equips you to do God's will.
It's the breath of God thatempowers you to answer his call.
It's the breath of God thatequips you to walk in his
(07:49):
purpose.
It's the breath of God thatenables you to be a witness.
It's the breath of God that willhelp you to thrive instead of
merely surviving.
The breath of God prepares youspiritually to withstand
spiritual warfare.
You may be wondering why youfeel like you're losing.
Maybe you just need a freshbreath because you can't fight
(08:11):
this and do this on your own.
You need a touch from God.
Now let's go back to the firstbook of the Bible, Genesis, in
chapter two and verse seven.
Hear the word of the Lord.
Then the Lord God formed the manof dust from the ground and
(08:32):
breathed into his nostrils thebreath of life.
And the man became a livingcreature.
Think about that.
Before God breathed on Adam, hewas simply a lifeless body,
literally a dirty bag.
It was God's breath that broughtlife.
(08:53):
Without God's breath, everythingin our lives will remain
stagnant and lifeless.
Without God's breath, dreamsdie.
Without his breath, ministriescan become empty.
Without his breath, we simplyjust go through the motions.
Because the truth is, apart fromGod, and without his breath,
(09:17):
we're just dust.
And that's something that shouldkeep us humble.
Everything that we have andeverything that we are is
because of God.
Now I have two questions foryou.
The first one is reflective.
What or who is keeping you frompositioning yourself for God to
(09:41):
breathe on you?
Or I say it like this.
What or who, including yourself,is keeping you from spending
time with God?
Think about that for a moment.
What excuses come to mind?
What are the distractions?
(10:02):
Is it social media?
Is it TV?
Is it your phone?
Is it busyness?
Is it just spiritual lazinessand spiritual apathy that you
just don't want to do or feellike you have to do it?
Or that's pride when you feellike you don't have to do this.
Please don't allow anyone oranything to keep you from the
(10:28):
presence of God.
Secondly, it's more of aquestion, I just want to ask an
answer to explain some things,but what will position you for
God to breathe on you?
Once again, it's time in theword, time in the Bible.
Taking time to read God's word,taking time to meditate on God's
(10:52):
word, and even memorizing theBible and verses, um, and
definitely obeying it.
Um, if you don't know where tostart, I would recommend
starting the book of John, um,the Gospel of John, and just
read a chapter each daythroughout the month, okay?
So spend time in God's word.
God reveals himself through hiswritten word, the Bible.
(11:14):
So read it, meditate on it, andobey him.
Secondly, we position ourselvesfor God to breathe on us when we
take time to enter into hispresence to pray.
I mean, spending time talking tothe Lord.
You're just in his presence,praising him, worshiping him,
and just loving on him.
(11:34):
And then another one is that afasting.
And fasting is when you gowithout food for a limited
amount of time for the sake ofdrawing closer to the Lord.
You can start small and maybeskip your lunch, and instead of
taking a lunch break and goingto get some food, you would use
your lunch break to seek afterGod.
(11:55):
Or you can go a couple days withno food or a couple days doing
only one meal a day.
There are various ways to dothis.
So as it relates to time in theword, aka Bible study, as it
relates to the topic of prayer,as it relates to the topic of
fasting, I have devoted entireepisodes to all three of these
topics where I take a deep diveinto them.
(12:15):
So I would encourage you to takea listen to them if you really
want to position yourself forGod to breathe on you.
And I will leave those links inthe show notes below.
So here's my takeaway point.
Right now, in this moment andbeyond, I want you to be
relentless on your pursuit ofGod and do whatever it takes to
(12:41):
press into his presence so Godcan breathe on you, and then so
God can use you in a mighty way.
I don't know about you, but Iwant to be used by God in a
mighty way.
I want to conclude by justpraying over you and speaking
life over you.
(13:02):
So here's my prayer for you.
For those that are married, Ipray that God would breathe on
your marriage, that you two willfall more deeply in love with
God each and every day, and thatyou two also will fall more
deeply in love with one anothereach and every day.
(13:23):
I pray that God will breathe onyour job.
I ask that he would enable youto be a light and that you would
use your words and your actionsto point people to him.
I also ask that God would giveyou favor at your job, that we
open up more doors ofopportunity and promotion.
I pray that God will breathe onyour finances.
(13:44):
I ask that he would empower youto be a wise and disciplined
steward over what he has alreadyblessed you with.
And I also pray that he willexpand your territory.
In other words, I pray that Godwill bless you with even more
all for his glory.
I pray that God will breathe onyour health.
For those that are sick, I praythat God would heal.
(14:06):
For those that are addicted, Ipray that by the Spirit of God
and by the breath of God thatyou will be delivered and set
free from any and all addictionsand bad habits in Jesus' name.
I also pray that God willbreathe on your health from a
fitness perspective.
I pray that you will have thediscipline and the motivation to
(14:27):
work out more and to eat wisely.
But above all, I pray for you asJesus prayed for Peter.
I pray that your faith fail younot.
I pray for you spiritually.
I pray for your walk with theLord.
I pray that God will give you adeeper hunger and a deeper
thirst for him.
(14:47):
I pray that he will bless youwith the discipline and the
desire and the motivation to beconsistent in your time alone
with him in prayer and Biblestudy.
I pray that God will give you adeeper desire to seek him and to
love him.
I pray that you will fall inlove with the Lord afresh and
that God will set your heartablaze for him.
(15:11):
Now I pray that God will breatheon you, and I pray that God will
breathe on every aspect of yourlife, and that God will work
everything out all for your goodand for his glory in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
And amen again.
Well, thank you so much fortuning in today.
I hope this message has inspiredyou and really encouraged you to
(15:34):
go forward in your walk with theLord.
So be sure to share this episodewith a few friends, those that
you want to see thrive, thosethat you want to see also
position themselves for God tobreathe on them.
And until next time, go be allthat God has called you to be.
Welcome and thanks for tuning in to Real People,
Real Talk.
Relevant conversations that takeyou from surviving to thriving.
This is the podcast that goesthere.
My name is Paul Calco, and I'myour host.
Now let's talk.
(00:30):
Well, hello, Thriver, andwelcome to Real People Real
Talk, the podcast ministry thatequips you to thrive
spiritually, relationally, andmentally.
Today's episode falls into thatfirst category of spiritually.
I want to share a devotionalthought with you about something
that every single believerdesperately needs, and that is
(00:53):
the breath of God.
Let me encourage you right here,right now, even in the
introduction with these words.
Listen, when God breathes on aperson, what was ordinary
(01:15):
becomes extraordinary.
What was weak becomes strong.
What was dead becomes alive.
And so with that being said,let's begin with the word of
God.
Give you some context to kind ofset the scene here.
Jesus encounters a few of hisdisciples after you know he has
been crucified, he died, he wasburied, and then he is now
(01:40):
resurrected.
So I'm gonna read for you Johnchapter twenty, verses nineteen
through twenty two.
Hear the word of the Lord.
On the evening of that day, thefirst day of the week, the doors
being locked where the discipleswere for the fear of the Jews.
Jesus came and stood among themand said to them, Peace be with
(02:02):
you.
And when he had said this, heshowed them his hands and his
side.
Then his disciples were gladwhen they saw the Lord.
Verse 21.
Jesus said to them, Peace bewith you, as the Father has sent
me, even so I am sending you.
And when he said that, hebreathed on them and said,
(02:22):
Receive the Holy Spirit.
Let me reread verse 22 foremphasis.
And when he has said this, hebreathed on them and said,
Receive the Holy Spirit.
I don't know about you, but nowmore than ever, I both want and
need God to breathe on me.
(02:44):
I want him and I want you tohave this desire as well, but I
want him to breathe on mymarriage.
I want them to breathe on myministry.
I want them to breathe on mywork.
I want him to breathe on mypersonal ghost.
To be honest, I want God tobreathe on every area and aspect
of my life.
And once again, I hope and praythat you want the same.
(03:05):
When I say God's breath, here'swhat I mean.
Let's get a working definitionat the top of this episode.
God's breath that refers to histouch, his presence, his
guidance, his favor, and hisanointing.
One more time.
When I say God's breath, I'mreferring to God's touch, to his
(03:25):
presence, to his guidance, tohis favor, and to his anointing.
Hear me and hear me well.
You would never accomplishanything significant without the
breath of God.
As a matter of fact, the Bibletells us, and Jesus tells us in
his own words, apart from me,you can do nothing.
(03:49):
Maybe this is a season whereyou're feeling stagnant and dry,
feeling dry and stagnant in yourcareer, or maybe your
relationships, or dare I say,your spiritual life.
Perhaps you've been tryingharder, pushing harder, working
harder, and just grinding, butnothing seems to be moving or
(04:10):
getting better.
That's because you need thebreath of God.
You may say, How can I receivethe breath of God?
That's a good question, andhere's the answer.
You position yourself for God tobreathe on you when you enter
into his presence, okay?
In other words, when you carveout time to spend with him.
(04:32):
With that being said, I bothencourage you and challenge you
to press into the presence ofGod on a daily basis.
And when I say press into hispresence, here's what I mean:
time in the word, time praying,time fasting, time at the feet
of Jesus, just soaking up timein his presence.
(04:57):
Jesus breathed on his disciplesas they were in his presence.
Listen, my friend, as you getclose to God, you put yourself
in a position to be breathed on.
It's imperative that everyonethat names the name of Christ to
(05:18):
do whatever it takes to get intoGod's presence on a daily basis.
No excuses.
As you draw near to God, youposition yourself to receive
what only God can give.
Once again, every believershould make it a priority to get
into God's presence on a dailybasis.
(05:41):
Sitting at His feet, soaking inHis presence, and just spending
time worshiping, praising, andhonoring the Father.
Let's revisit verse 21 and 22.
And Jesus said to them, Peace bewith you, as the Father has sent
me, even so I am sending you.
(06:03):
And when he had said this, Jesusbreathed on them and said to
them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
Before he sent them, he filledthem.
Before the assignment came thebreath.
Before the mission came theempowerment, and before the work
came the presence of God.
(06:24):
I think you know where I'm goingwith this.
Here's a powerful reminder forall of us today.
Before we can accomplishanything great, before we can
accomplish anything worthwhile,before we can be successful in
this life, we first need God tobreathe on us.
(06:44):
Many people are trying tofulfill God's purpose in their
own strength.
They're striving when theyshould be abiding.
They're pushing when they shouldbe praying, and they're grinding
when they should be seeking God.
So take some time to be at hisfeet, in his presence, so the
(07:05):
Lord can breathe on you.
And here's what happened whenyou're in his presence.
God can breathe wisdom, He canbreathe creativity, He can
breathe fresh ideas, strategy,and so much more.
Man, listen, like a fish needswater, I need the breath of God
in my life.
Like fire needs wood, I need thebreath of God in my life.
(07:28):
Like a tree needs soul, I needthe breath of God in my life.
Because it's the breath of Godthat empowers you, enables you,
and equips you to do God's will.
It's the breath of God thatempowers you to answer his call.
It's the breath of God thatequips you to walk in his
(07:49):
purpose.
It's the breath of God thatenables you to be a witness.
It's the breath of God that willhelp you to thrive instead of
merely surviving.
The breath of God prepares youspiritually to withstand
spiritual warfare.
You may be wondering why youfeel like you're losing.
Maybe you just need a freshbreath because you can't fight
(08:11):
this and do this on your own.
You need a touch from God.
Now let's go back to the firstbook of the Bible, Genesis, in
chapter two and verse seven.
Hear the word of the Lord.
Then the Lord God formed the manof dust from the ground and
(08:32):
breathed into his nostrils thebreath of life.
And the man became a livingcreature.
Think about that.
Before God breathed on Adam, hewas simply a lifeless body,
literally a dirty bag.
It was God's breath that broughtlife.
(08:53):
Without God's breath, everythingin our lives will remain
stagnant and lifeless.
Without God's breath, dreamsdie.
Without his breath, ministriescan become empty.
Without his breath, we simplyjust go through the motions.
Because the truth is, apart fromGod, and without his breath,
(09:17):
we're just dust.
And that's something that shouldkeep us humble.
Everything that we have andeverything that we are is
because of God.
Now I have two questions foryou.
The first one is reflective.
What or who is keeping you frompositioning yourself for God to
(09:41):
breathe on you?
Or I say it like this.
What or who, including yourself,is keeping you from spending
time with God?
Think about that for a moment.
What excuses come to mind?
What are the distractions?
(10:02):
Is it social media?
Is it TV?
Is it your phone?
Is it busyness?
Is it just spiritual lazinessand spiritual apathy that you
just don't want to do or feellike you have to do it?
Or that's pride when you feellike you don't have to do this.
Please don't allow anyone oranything to keep you from the
(10:28):
presence of God.
Secondly, it's more of aquestion, I just want to ask an
answer to explain some things,but what will position you for
God to breathe on you?
Once again, it's time in theword, time in the Bible.
Taking time to read God's word,taking time to meditate on God's
(10:52):
word, and even memorizing theBible and verses, um, and
definitely obeying it.
Um, if you don't know where tostart, I would recommend
starting the book of John, um,the Gospel of John, and just
read a chapter each daythroughout the month, okay?
So spend time in God's word.
God reveals himself through hiswritten word, the Bible.
(11:14):
So read it, meditate on it, andobey him.
Secondly, we position ourselvesfor God to breathe on us when we
take time to enter into hispresence to pray.
I mean, spending time talking tothe Lord.
You're just in his presence,praising him, worshiping him,
and just loving on him.
(11:34):
And then another one is that afasting.
And fasting is when you gowithout food for a limited
amount of time for the sake ofdrawing closer to the Lord.
You can start small and maybeskip your lunch, and instead of
taking a lunch break and goingto get some food, you would use
your lunch break to seek afterGod.
(11:55):
Or you can go a couple days withno food or a couple days doing
only one meal a day.
There are various ways to dothis.
So as it relates to time in theword, aka Bible study, as it
relates to the topic of prayer,as it relates to the topic of
fasting, I have devoted entireepisodes to all three of these
topics where I take a deep diveinto them.
(12:15):
So I would encourage you to takea listen to them if you really
want to position yourself forGod to breathe on you.
And I will leave those links inthe show notes below.
So here's my takeaway point.
Right now, in this moment andbeyond, I want you to be
relentless on your pursuit ofGod and do whatever it takes to
(12:41):
press into his presence so Godcan breathe on you, and then so
God can use you in a mighty way.
I don't know about you, but Iwant to be used by God in a
mighty way.
I want to conclude by justpraying over you and speaking
life over you.
(13:02):
So here's my prayer for you.
For those that are married, Ipray that God would breathe on
your marriage, that you two willfall more deeply in love with
God each and every day, and thatyou two also will fall more
deeply in love with one anothereach and every day.
(13:23):
I pray that God will breathe onyour job.
I ask that he would enable youto be a light and that you would
use your words and your actionsto point people to him.
I also ask that God would giveyou favor at your job, that we
open up more doors ofopportunity and promotion.
I pray that God will breathe onyour finances.
(13:44):
I ask that he would empower youto be a wise and disciplined
steward over what he has alreadyblessed you with.
And I also pray that he willexpand your territory.
In other words, I pray that Godwill bless you with even more
all for his glory.
I pray that God will breathe onyour health.
For those that are sick, I praythat God would heal.
(14:06):
For those that are addicted, Ipray that by the Spirit of God
and by the breath of God thatyou will be delivered and set
free from any and all addictionsand bad habits in Jesus' name.
I also pray that God willbreathe on your health from a
fitness perspective.
I pray that you will have thediscipline and the motivation to
(14:27):
work out more and to eat wisely.
But above all, I pray for you asJesus prayed for Peter.
I pray that your faith fail younot.
I pray for you spiritually.
I pray for your walk with theLord.
I pray that God will give you adeeper hunger and a deeper
thirst for him.
(14:47):
I pray that he will bless youwith the discipline and the
desire and the motivation to beconsistent in your time alone
with him in prayer and Biblestudy.
I pray that God will give you adeeper desire to seek him and to
love him.
I pray that you will fall inlove with the Lord afresh and
that God will set your heartablaze for him.
(15:11):
Now I pray that God will breatheon you, and I pray that God will
breathe on every aspect of yourlife, and that God will work
everything out all for your goodand for his glory in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
And amen again.
Well, thank you so much fortuning in today.
I hope this message has inspiredyou and really encouraged you to
(15:34):
go forward in your walk with theLord.
So be sure to share this episodewith a few friends, those that
you want to see thrive, thosethat you want to see also
position themselves for God tobreathe on them.
And until next time, go be allthat God has called you to be.
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