Corey Lidle died yesterday in a small plane crash in Manhattan. He was 34 years old with a wonderful wife and child. A professional baseball player. I understand him to be a great person.
Life is short.
Psalm 90 tells us:
From Everlasting to Everlasting
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1Lord, you have been our dwelling place[a]
in all generations.
2Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3You return man to dust
and say, "Return, O children of man!"[b]
4For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
5You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span[c] is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17Let the favor[d] of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
The psalmist writes that life is short:
Like yesterday when it passes by (verse 4)
As a watch in the night (verse 4)
like grass...it sprouts and withers (verses 5,6)
Like a sigh (verse 9)
Soon it is gone (verse 10)
Life is short but life is also uncertain. We just don't know do we.
A single adjective could precede almost every event in our future:
Unexpected
Surgery
change
transfer
down-sizing
accomplishment
loss
benefit
sickness
promotion
demotion
death
Life is uncertain.
Life is challenging
Because it's short and uncertain we are faced on a daily basis with making adjustments and keeping our perspective whole and eternal.
Rather than these thoughts being negative, I look upon them as positive, for they help us keep everything in perspective.
What is your perspective today? Are your mired in the present and the temporary? Or do you every now and again lift up your head and look around and see that in the whole scheme of things it's not quite as important as we think it is?
Don't sweat the small stuff and everything is small stuff!
Live in the present with gusto, knowing that life is short, uncertain and challenging.
Just some thoughts for a snowy day.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Oh, how timely this is along with some other things that have happened in our lives lately.
Last week in small group, I passed out an article for our members to read over the week between meetings on stress and how some biblical persons dealt with it.
On just this past Tuesday, Jonah found a lump on the side of his neck and we made an appointment with the doctor for him on Wednesday.
Tuesday night (in small group) we went through the stress packet and talked about how Joshua dealt with the stress of leading after Moses (and into the Promised Land), how Esther dealt with her stress in approaching the king, how Jesus dealt with his stress of ministry while being attacked, and how Paul dealt with all the negative stress things in his life.
Wednesday, I took Jonah to the doctor and the doctor has referred us to a surgeon (the same one that just did Kim's surgery last spring on a lump on the back of her neck) for followup as the lump seems to be attached to something in Jonah's neck. Jonah, it seems, immediately when he found the lump on Tuesday started thinking about cancer and dying.
Wednesday night, after the business meeting, I was reading my scripture of the day from Arcamax and it dealt with trusting God and laying our stresses aside. I read the verses to Jonah and we talked about his concerns and fears. Later, we cuddled up with Kim and prayed as a family concerning the issue.
None of us know the number of days we have left. I truly believe that God is watching out for Jonah (and us) and this will turn out to be something benign like Kim's lump was...and my lump some four years ago. But that doesn't preclude us from living each day the best we can, trying to be more and more like Christ Jesus and tell people the Good News. Jonah understands that now...and he is committed to using his fear and worry in a positive manner to reach out to his friends and school mates to tell them about Jesus and how little time they could all have.
God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. Is this one of them? Has God provided us with a wake-up call to get out there and evangelize in a mighty way? Will we? I can think of no better way to spend the remainder of my days than to have the opportunity to talk about the love of Jesus Christ, the mercy and grace of God, and the power and knowledge of the Holy Spirit. In essence, to tell the world about God's goodness and desire to connect with each and every one.
If you get a chance, pray for Jonah. Pray that God use him in a mighty way. Pray that he learns the lessons that God has planned for him. Pray that this lump is nothing serious but that God uses it for His glory.
Love God as He loves you. What a world we would have then! Show your love to God by how you treat everyone else. Jesus said, "As you do unto the least of these, so do you unto me." Be nice and gentle and loving and kind and generous and wise and friendly.
May God bless you today and all the remainder of your days. Let Him use you for the length of your "sigh." See George's message for the quote.
Yours with an agape love,
Jon
Post a Comment