Take a deep breath...
And Another.... Now just think about what happened there. When someone inhales, they contract and move their diaphragm, which allows the lungs to expand. This is a part of the process needed to psychically suck in the air. When a person exhales, the diaphragm relaxes and the movement is undone. This allows air to be gradually pushed out of the lungs. This is a very short explanation of what happnes when we take a "simple" breath. It's actually a very complex system that our bodies have to run all day everyday. And we don't even think about it. It's not something we have to try for or work at. How amazing is that!? Lately I have been challenged with what I am doing with all the time given to me in the day. And we all hear it time and time again, but God has repeatedly been reminding that I am only given this moment right here right now. Next year is not promised to me, Next month is not promised, next week, tomorrow, one hour, one minute... I am only given this breath. The very air that I am breathing right now is a gift from the greatest creator and I am responsible for how I use it. Our life is truly a vapor. But it's easy to look at today as just another day. Another day to go to the grocery store, to go to church, soccer practice, just another day to mark off the calendar. But there is absolutely nothing normal about today. Today is an absolute Miracle! That fact that we are moving and breathing... A MIRACLE! We plan ahead and schedule our whole lives out, assuming that we have our whole lives ahead of us. But the reality is... " You don’t even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (4:13-14) So I have been asking myself, "Do I really believe that I could be gone at any moment?" Or do I somehow believe I am an exception? The reality of my life and your life is that it doesn't really matter what place we are in right now. Whether we are at the grocery store, church or soccer practice. My entire life is meant to give God glory. Whether it be in my strengths, or my absolute weakness. Whatever I am doing, my life is supposed to be pointing to God. I may not be able to control my situations or the things that are going on around me, But I am able to control the way I respond to them. So what am I going to choose? Am I going to let My situations and circumstances define the amount of glory I give to God? Or am I going to daily choose to have a life that points directly to him no matter what? I don’t want to die living selfishly. I want to know that I gave God everything. That in every situation I pointed to him and my life gave him glory. Life is so often unexpectedly short. And I think all of us need to be reminded of this every once and a while. I never want to forget that the only thing that matters is God. The king of kings, Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, The God that is bigger than anything we could dream or imagine This is all for him. |
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