The Potter's House Podcast

Wednesday Night Bible Study: Don’t Forget to Breathe | Dr. Oscar Williams

Date: January 15, 2026

Episode Overview

In this midweek Bible study, Dr. Oscar Williams delivers a vulnerable, deeply spiritual message titled "Don't Forget to Breathe." Drawing from Numbers 20:1-12 (the story of Moses striking the rock), Dr. Williams explores the parallels between physical, emotional, and spiritual breath—how life’s relentless pressures tempt us to hold our breath, lose our spiritual connection, and respond out of old wounds instead of faith. The teaching challenges listeners to face internal struggles, let go of spiritual quick fixes, and embrace God’s “Ruach” (breath, spirit) as the source of true life—especially when anxious or under pressure.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Meaning and Power of Breath

(03:30–11:15)

• Breath as Life and Spirit:
  Dr. Williams opens by connecting the physical act of breathing with spiritual reality. He explains the Hebrew word “ruach”—meaning “breath, wind, spirit”—appears at creation (Genesis 1, 2) as God’s very life force in humanity.
  • “Breathing is spiritual… your breath is His breath, your air is His air.” (06:30, Dr. Williams)
• Automatic vs. Disrupted Breathing:
  He notes that we breathe 17,000–24,000 times a day without thinking—until life interrupts us. Moments of anxiety, trauma, or uncertainty cause us to “hold our breath,” shifting breathing from an automatic to a conscious struggle—and spiritual union is subtly disrupted.

2. How Life Teaches Us to Hold Our Breath

(11:16–17:30)

• Examples of ‘Holding Your Breath’:
  • Anxiety for children at school, workplace uncertainty, fear from bad news, global events, and personal trauma.
  • “You get that phone call…and you’re holding your breath because you don’t know what they’re going to say… you’re holding your breath.” (12:30, Dr. Williams)
• Consequences:
  Labored or irregular breathing clouds judgment, impairs reactions, lowers efficiency. Spiritual life suffers; we live defensively and faith is stunted.
  • “Church sometimes sells you quick fixes… but some things that make us hold our breath can’t be fixed with a dance or a prayer line. It takes hard internal work.” (14:57, Dr. Williams)

3. Vulnerability in Ministry and Life

(17:30–21:10)

• Leaders Holding Their Breath:
  Williams confesses as a pastor/worship leader, he sometimes helps others experience freedom—while leaving the stage feeling lonely or spiritually suffocated himself.
  • “I could preach and speak to thousands—and yet I would leave the stage wondering, did God even hear anything I said?” (17:45, Dr. Williams)
• Biblical Heroes Felt This Too:
  • David—dealt with rejection and isolation (19:00)
  • Elijah—was depressed and suicidal after victory (19:57)
  • Paul—his “thorn in the flesh” kept him desperate for grace (20:31)
    • “God’s response to Paul…was, ‘You can handle it because my grace is sufficient.’” (20:54)
• Lesson:
  • God often positions us “between the promise and the pressure.”

4. Moses: The Pressure of Unresolved Issues

(21:10–32:20)

• Moses as an Outcast and Leader:
  • Born during genocide, orphaned, raised in conflicting cultures
  • Struggled with rejection and self-doubt, even after being called by God from isolation (23:06–24:55)
  • Returns to lead millions—amidst constant complaint and spiritual pressure (26:29–28:34)
• Ministry Doesn’t Fix What You Don’t Face:
  • “We think because we serve, that something is fixing the thing in us that needs therapy… but it’s just a mask… that thing is still there.” (29:05, Dr. Williams)
• The Cost of Unaddressed Anger:
  • Moses’ impulsiveness leads him to break the tablets (God’s commandments) in a fit of rage (30:08)
    • “If you don’t deal with that thing on the inside, you will mishandle the very thing you’ve been praying to God for.” (30:45)

5. Numbers 20 — The Waters of Meribah: A Test of Faith vs. Force

(34:21–51:36)

• Context:
  • Moses, older now, leading a new generation, on the threshold of the Promised Land.
  • The people complain again about no water.
• Comparison of Two Miracles:
  • In Exodus 17, God tells Moses to strike the rock.
  • In Numbers 20, God tells Moses to speak to the rock—signaling a new, maturer season of faith.
    • “This time I want you to speak to it, because this is not about your force, this is about your faith.” (41:03, Dr. Williams)
  • Moses, in grief, frustration, and old patterns, strikes the rock twice instead.
• Key Insight:
  • “You may still see it [the provision] work, but your proximity to Him now has changed… Moses forfeits his ability to enter the promised land.” (50:18)
  • “Because you haven’t dealt with unresolved issues, it has now cost you the very thing you lived your life for.” (51:36)

6. The Example of Jesus—Breathe, Don’t Break

(53:06–61:02)

• Turning to Mark 8, Dr. Williams points to Jesus under pressure from Pharisees and clueless disciples:
  • “But he sighed deeply in his spirit…” (55:12, quoting Mark 8)
  • Greek: “anastaso”—to breathe from the depths.
    • “Jesus, at the height of frustration and anxiety, did not forget to breathe.” (55:12)
• Practical Application:
  • In physical exercise, childbirth, and life pressure, breath regulates, centers, and prevents chaos.
  • “Life can try to take your breath away… but at your moment of greatest anxiety, remember what Jesus did: just breathe.” (57:00)
• Altar Call for Renewal:
  • Williams invites all holding “the pains of your past, generational pains, anxiety, betrayal” to surrender the things they can no longer carry—by breathing, releasing, confronting.
    • “Breathing is a release… sometimes you gotta release that pain, release that animosity, release that anxiety.” (60:57)

7. Speaking to the Rock—Prophetic Activation

(61:51–65:23)

• Power in the Mouth:
  • “You better learn how to speak to the rock. I am getting ready to enter into the best season of my life, so breathe.” (61:53, Dr. Oscar Williams, quoted by service leader)
  • “The power is not in your hand, it’s in your mouth. The power is in your tongue. Death and life are in the power of your tongue.” (43:49)
• Exhortation:
  • Stand up, declare God’s promises, sow seeds of faith, and receive what God is releasing.
  • “Every time you hear something, even in the office, and you hear something prophetically, just do like this—grab it. That belongs to me!” (64:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On communion with God:
  • “Our breath brings us into common union—communion—with the Father. When I breathe, I’m having a conversation with heaven.” (07:30)
• On the cycle of spiritual exhaustion:
  • “You know how to camouflage it… but really, inside, you’ve been holding your breath.” (16:58)
• Facing vulnerability as a leader:
  • “I saw God heal, and I saw God make a way, but then I would go home to a feeling of loneliness, feeling like God… have you heard it for me?” (18:12)
• On leadership and unresolved wounds:
  • “If you don't get that anger under control, you'll destroy that marriage you’ve prayed for; that business God told you to build.” (30:45)
• On Moses’ pivotal error:
  • “God does not cancel out His provision, He cancels your privilege… your proximity to Him has changed.” (50:18)
• On Jesus’ example in stress:
  • “At Jesus’ moment of frustration, what did He do? He did not forget to breathe.” (55:12)
• On confronting pain to breathe again:
  • “The very thing you have not confronted, the thing you camouflage to everybody else… you know it still shows up.” (58:00)
• Prophetic declaration:
  • “I am getting ready to enter into the best season of my life. So breathe. Take it easy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper… So breathe.” (62:51)

Important Timestamps

• [03:38] – Introduction, Scripture reading (Numbers 20:1–12), theme setup
• [06:30—11:15] – The spiritual significance of breath (“Ruach”), automatic to disrupted breathing
• [13:36—17:30] – Life examples of “holding your breath,” consequences for body, mind, and spirit
• [17:30—21:10] – Church leaders' vulnerability, biblical examples (David, Elijah, Paul)
• [21:11–32:20] – Moses’ life story: rejection, anger, leadership under pressure
• [34:21–51:36] – Moses’ test at Meribah: difference between old miracles (striking) and new miracles (speaking); consequences of spiritual regression
• [53:09–61:02] – Jesus sighing (breathing) deeply in frustration (Mark 8); call to breathe and let go; altar invitation
• [61:51–65:23] – Prophetic exhortation: declare God’s promises, “speak to the rock,” faith activation

Conclusion

Dr. Oscar Williams’ message is a heartfelt exhortation for believers to recognize when they are “holding their breath” due to life’s pressures—spiritually, emotionally, physically. Drawing from Moses’ story and Jesus’ own example, he calls for honest surrender, healing old wounds, and learning to breathe (and speak!) with faith. The power to journey into God’s promise lies not in returning to old patterns, but embracing the new way God wants to work—through surrendered, spoken faith and the ever-present breath of God.

“Breathe. Take it easy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper… It's turning around for me.”
— Service Leader, reflecting on Dr. Oscar Williams’ core message (62:51)

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