When There Isn't Room for One More Breath

Sep 5

3 min read

Have you ever watched someone overinflate a balloon?

Each breath adds a little more air. For a while, the balloon stretches and makes room. Then one final breath causes it to burst.

The final breath may appear to be the cause, but it is only the last part of the story. The balloon was already full.

Sometimes our psychological capacity is exceeded in much the same way.

Stress often accumulates gradually. We hold the weight of work responsibilities, financial concerns, caregiving demands, relationship strain, physical illness, grief, uncertainty, and countless decisions. We make room for each one and keep going.

Then something relatively small happens.

The computer stops cooperating. An unexpected bill arrives. A carefully made plan falls apart. One more decision must be made before the end of an already exhausting day. And that one last thing is one thing too many. The ways we usually cope are no longer working.

The immediate event may not have been a big deal. It may simply have been the final breath added to an already overfilled balloon.

At other times, the balloon may burst from one sudden, powerful rush of air. A sudden death, serious diagnosis, accident, act of violence, betrayal, or other catastrophic event may be more than our minds and bodies can absorb in the moment. Our capacity is exceeded and we become overwhelmed.

Whether it happens gradually or all at once, we may find ourselves struggling to cope. We may have a panic attack, erupt in anger we cannot easily control, shut down and become unable to manage ordinary responsibilities, sink into despair, or find ourselves once again wrestling with things we thought we had moved beyond.

We all have limits to what we can hold, and our capacity is not the same every day. It may be reduced by poor sleep, illness, chronic pain, grief, past trauma, hormonal changes, conflict, or prolonged uncertainty. Something we could manage easily in one season may overwhelm us in another.

In the prophet Elijah, Scripture gives us a picture of someone whose capacity had been exceeded to the point of deep despair.

For years, Elijah lived through drought, danger, uncertainty, and isolation while faithfully continuing in the work God had given him. Then the Lord called him to a task that would require extraordinary strength, courage, and faith.

On Mount Carmel, Elijah stood boldly before the people as the only prophet of God, confronting 450 prophets of Baal. Under God’s direction, Elijah proposed a test. Both he and the prophets of Baal would prepare a sacrifice, but neither would set it on fire. Each would call upon the one he worshiped to send the fire. The one who answered would be revealed as the true God.

The prophets of Baal prepared their sacrifice and called upon Baal for hours, but nothing happened. Then Elijah prepared his sacrifice. He ordered that the sacrifice be drenched with water three times, until water ran around the altar and filled the trench surrounding it.

When everything was ready, Elijah prayed. God sent fire that consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water in the trench. When the people saw what God had done, they fell to the ground and cried, “The Lord, He is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” (1 Kings 18:39 NLT).

Not long afterward, Elijah received a death threat from Queen Jezebel. Terrified, he fled for his life, eventually continuing alone into the wilderness. Only a short time earlier, Elijah had stood with extraordinary strength, courage, and faith before hundreds of people. Now, stretched beyond what he believed he could bear, he prayed, “I have had enough, Lord…take my life…” (1 Kings 19:4 NLT).

God responded to Elijah’s despair with tenderness and care. He did not shame Elijah or demand that he pull himself together. God sent an angel to care for him. Elijah slept, ate, and drank until his physical strength had been restored. Then he journeyed to Mount Horeb.

There, Elijah poured out his heart to God, telling Him of his fear and discouragement. God met him with compassion, gave him direction, reminded him that he was not alone, and provided Elisha to walk alongside him in the work ahead (1 Kings 19:9–21).

Elijah’s story reminds us that even those who have been faithful and strong have limits to what they can hold.

When there is not room for one more breath, we do not have to keep holding everything by ourselves. Like Elijah, we can bring all of it to Jesus, tell Him the truth about how we feel and what we want, and receive His help and provision. His help and provision may come in many ways, often through people He places alongside us.