Life is a Vapor

One thing we’ve learned from the recent California fires and the airplane crashes is the stark reminder that life is fragile. I still can’t fathom that my friend and her husband lost everything in the California fires. It was grievous to see the pictures of the young skaters and adults who lost their lives in the DC crash.

How do we deal with the brevity of life? Look at these verses in The Message:

“And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, ‘Today- at the latest, tomorrow- we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.’ You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, ‘If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.’”  (James: 14-15 The Message)

It's so easy to think that life will just go the way we want and we will miss the problems and tragedies. Yet this verse in James tells us that life is a vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears.

Did those people boarding the plane wake up that morning and even consider that this might be their last day alive? I wonder if my friends from Altadena at the beginning of the year considered they might lose their home very soon. Not at all!

Why do we think we can boast about our future plans? Do we plan our lives realizing we can’t predict the future? Do we comprehend the fragility of our existence? If anything we’ve learned this week is of the uncertainty of life.

But wait! This verse also speaks about the importance of humility and dependence on God. By saying “if the Lord wills” we are acknowledging that our plans on totally contingent on God’s will. We can’t rely on our abilities.

Finally, are we aware of our need for God? This verse addresses people who are super confident in their own power and future. They think they know best. What would it look like if you daily demonstrated a humble reliance on God’s guidance?

Does this mean that we quit planning? Not at all! Instead, we practice gratitude for each day we’ve been given on this earth. We plan with prayer, asking God for wisdom and the Holy Spirit to guide us to know what to do in His timing. As we partner with God, He truly wants to guide us all the days of our lives.

Prayer: “Father, there’s no safer place to be in life or in death- than in Christ. Because you’ve hidden our lives in Jesus, not a hair can fall from our heads, not a breath can be taken from our lungs, and not a beat can be missed by our hearts apart from your sovereign purposes and pleasure. And should I die in the next hour, my heart will forever proclaim, ‘My God has done all things well.’ I pray with great gratitude in Jesus’ most worthy name. Amen.” (Scotty Smith, Everyday Prayers)

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.