“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” James 4:14 NASB
I did not attend school to study to become a doctor or nurse. I did not pursue special training to one day become a firefighter, police officer, or soldier. I am just not cut out for that type of work. I can barely handle watching the main character of a movie suffer or die without crying profusely. And that is all imaginary!!
Aside from attempting to avoid any type of suffering to my person or my people that will cause pain and sorrow, I feel too much for those who do suffer loss. I empathize with them and imagine what it must be like to be them.
This past weekend’s devastating news of a helicopter crash was felt by the whole world. The news has focused mainly on NBA legend, Kobe Bryant, and his daughter, Gianna, as well as a winning college baseball coach, John Altobelli. But nine people perished on that flight–fathers, husbands, coaches, a pilot, mothers, wives, sisters, daughters…. It was just another flight to a travel basketball game as was journeyed so many times previously. And yet Kobe, Gianna, John, Keri, Alyssa, Sarah, Payton, Christina, and Ara will never return home again.
And those left behind will for the rest of their lives learn to deal with the pain of losing a loved one.
Life will go on but it won’t.
There will always be reminders. There will always be the memories.
Even people who did not personally know these individuals mourn. Grown men cry on national television. Students don’t want to go to school. Employees don’t want to report for work. The grieving is real. It hurts to see the seemingly senseless deaths of wonderful, loving people who impacted others with their lives and still had so much they wanted to live for.
Many say that they died too soon. But everyone has a purpose in this life and when it has been completed, it ends.
I pray that all the passengers knew Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I pray that upon impact, they were immediately in the presence of the Lord and His great love and joy; that they suffered no pain. I pray that their families left behind also know Him and can take comfort in His divine love.
We must remember that God is always in control.
The Bible says that He knows the number of our days. He knew before He even created us when we would be born and when we will die.
Knowing this, we should live each day as if it were our last. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” We should not waste the time we have been given but live our lives daily with purpose. We can make our plans but also remember that tomorrow is never promised to us. And so how much more important it is to live each day to the fullest!
We can take comfort in knowing that if we have submitted our lives to the Lord, then God is with us through it all and His will will be done. Whatever He wants to accomplish in and through us, will come to pass. No matter what struggles or trials we experience, He will be there with us giving us strength to continue on. Our joy comes from Him and not any material thing nor even our loved ones. He is the one who provides. And then, one day, we will be in heaven with Him free of all pain and sorrow of this earthly life.
We can look forward with hope to the time when we will be in His glorious presence. Our joy is in Him and His many blessings to us, not in the material things of this world. All that we have is from Him anyway.
Are you living your life with purpose? Is there a change you need to make in order to live more wisely and take advantage of every moment you have been given before you are gone? Don’t wait, but do something now before it is too late.
Always take comfort in the Lord and
Joy in the King!
Laurie
Photo credit: Pxhere
