Wednesday: A Mist
Read James 4:14. What crucial point is being made here?
Image © Chris Weathered from GoodSalt.com
Life is uncertain. Every breath is a gift. James 4:14 uses a very rare Greek word (atmis), which is translated as vapor
or mist.
Like the Hebrew word hebel (breath, vapor
), which occurs 38 times in Ecclesiastes and is often translated as vanity,
it emphasizes the transitory nature of life. Who hasn’t, especially as we get older, experienced just how fast and fleeting life is? Well into his old age, well-known evangelist Billy Graham said, I never knew that life went by so quickly.
In other words, there’s always the imminence of death. We are all just a heartbeat away from it. Any of us, at any moment, for any number of reasons, could die in an instant. How rightly James says, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring
(James 4:14, ESV), including death.
I will not here dwell upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; but there is a terrible danger-a danger not sufficiently understood-in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God’s Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is.
-Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 32.
Plus, not only is life so short but, in and of itself, it can also be so unsatisfying.
Read Ecclesiastes 2:15-19; Eccl. 4:4; Eccl. 5:10; Eccl. 9:11-12. How does the message of Solomon here only add to the point that James has made?
We see so much injustice, so much unfairness, so much that doesn’t make sense in this life. No wonder we all long for the promise of eternal life made to us through Jesus. Without that, we are just a mist that will be gone and forever forgotten.
Take stock: how much of this world holds you in its grip? How can you always keep in mind just how fleeting it all is?
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As we study the Sabbath School lessons a lot may be said about various passages of scripture, what they mean and how they are to be applied. We may find in our study reassurance, encouragement and hope, and the Spirit of truth is certainly pleased to lead us into better understanding of God’s Word and will.
Yet what appears to send Heaven into rapturous celebration is when a sinner makes a decision to leave the world and follow Jesus (Luke 15:7). The reminder than humanity is frail and but a vapor (Psalm 39:5) is really to say, “"TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS" (Hebrews 4:7).
Today, if you are one for whom Heaven would rejoice do not put off your decision. Whether returning or for the first time won’t you choose Jesus today? Will you?
Well said.."when you hear His voice do not harden your heart"
What a sobering thought - in the greater scheme of things our lives hardly feature, here today gone tomorrow.
If we would like to make an impact we need to be part of the LORD's plan for this world and the universe.
I think we have been unknowingly judging people without even knowing what were doing
and many souls have been lost because of our judge.
may Lord teach His people because He know how to deal with them..
Sometimes we a ccumulate wealth thinking that it will make our future happy and against calamities and forget that the lord knows the end from the beginning .He is our protector and provider. When we plan let us put God first, moreover let us put our treasures in heaven where moths wont destroy them. Let us give God Priority In our Lives and we will live a purposeful life.
Nothing in this world satisfies like our Savior Jesus Christ.
There is only one thing that remains - the good works of love performed by those whose hearts Jesus reigns. Everything passes fast, it is a sad result of sin. Yet, our God will restore all things as planned to endure for good!
For now, it's safe that our existence is fleeting.
Here in Kenya, last Saturday 28 people lost their lives in the hands of the Al-Shabaab. The immediate question which came into my mind and keeps ringing in my head is this: "What was in the minds of these people just before they met their death? Could they have made things right with God before they begun their journey which ended up in their unexpected deaths? These people had planned to go home for Christmas but this never materialized. That is how short our lives are. Just like vapor our lives sttarts in the morning and when the sun comes it goes/disappears.