Faith

To Disappear

I live today in the constant awareness that my life is endangered by the mere fact that I am still breathing. All our lives are, in this daily war zone that is our world.

The places we work. The places we worship. The places we recreate. Nothing has been left untouched by the shadow of evil.

What do we do with this reality? How do we live each day knowing our lives could be taken in an instant?

The other day I was reading a Bible passage I’ve read many times before. It speaks of the final days, of how there will “great distress on the earth.” And it comes with a reminder: “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”

Amidst the horrific events we face in our modern age, it’s tempting to allow our hearts to become weighed down.

Drunkenness numbs. The cares of this life cause us to forget. But what exactly is dissipation?

It’s one of those words I thought I knew until I looked it up. As I initially thought, it does refer to indulgence in excessive pleasure. But beyond this, it also means “to squander or deplete.” On a scientific level, dissipation is “a physical process by which energy becomes not only unavailable but irrecoverable in any form.” To dissipate is to “cause something to disappear.” When something dissipates, it becomes “less than” it was originally intended to be.

If my time here is to be short, I don’t want to waste the moments allotted me. I don’t want to squander or deplete my resources. I don’t want to use my energy on things which are meaningless in the end. I don’t want to be any less than what I was originally intended to be.

I don’t want to disappear.

I’m not speaking of disappearing in a physical sense. I’m speaking of getting so lost in temporary pleasures and worldly cares that I lose sight of who I am and why I’m here. Of numbing myself so thoroughly that I forget the wisdom of numbering my days.

The current state of affairs awakens me. It causes me to reconsider the reason for my being here. It moves me to examine my path. How far have I drifted from the purpose for which I was created?

Father, as you have promised…use all that is intended for evil and bring forth good. If anything, use the horrific events of our day to awaken within us an awareness of the brevity of life. Turn our attention to things of eternal consequence. I pray we’d no longer dissipate our existence on what will waste away in the end. Instead, let us use the short time we have here on this earth to invest in things which will last forever.

 

Photo Credit: Wither – Free pictures on Pixabay

Skeletons

Blog_SkeletonSeen a lot of skeletons lately? I have. They seem to be everywhere these days—lying in garden beds, hanging from trees, lining the clearance aisles at the store. And while these skeletons are mere plastic replicas of the real thing, they serve as a reminder. Not just to buy tons of candy to pass out to costumed kids over the weekend. No, they are a reminder of something much more sobering.

Beneath our fashionable clothes and beyond our fading flesh, a mere skeleton holds us together. And when we’re gone, that skeleton is all that will be left of our bodies.

During a trip to a third world country, I walked through an impoverished graveyard where skeletons lined the pathways. My face-to-face encounter with those empty eye sockets and fleshless bones awakened me to the reality of my own mortality. I won’t be here long, no matter how slowly time seems to pass.

It’s easy to get sucked in to the monotonous routine of everyday life, forgetting how fleeting it all is. It’s tempting to invest time and resources on the needs and desires of my flesh, neglecting to consider it’s just a temporary house. How many hours have I spent worrying about how I look or how others perceive my external appearance, when this flesh is destined for the grave?

We are more, so much more. And life is more, so much more. When I stare at the skeletons in the neighborhood yards, I’m reminded again and again. I don’t want to live for short-lived gratification. I want my life to count for something that won’t rot in a casket with my bones.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

Source: Skeletons

Photo Credit: Skeleton Reading Book | Flickr – Photo Sharing! www.flickr.com

The Battles we Fight

We’re each granted our own share of battles that when we emerge victorious we might also battle on behalf of others.

 

Photo Credit:Free photo: Maple Leaf, Leaves, Red, Autumn – Free Image on …

Greater than My Fear

Yes, I feel afraid when I hear of all the awful things going on in the world. But I know my God is greater than my fear, and I know that one day, after my flesh has been destroyed, I will see him with my own eyes.

 

Photo Credit: Free photo: Landscape, Night, Road – Free Image on Pixabay – 696825

The Only Refuge

I am convinced that while there is no safe place on earth, there is no safer place than in the only refuge that will withstand the ravages of evil. “God is our refuge and strength.”

 

Photo Credit: Free photo: Eilean Donan, Castle, Fortress – Free Image on Pixabay …

Beware the Mind Invaders

Blog_UFOI’ve done stupid things, and I’ve done stupider things. And though I tell my kids stupid is a bad word, it’s just not possible to describe my most recent near-catastrophe without saying it was one of the stupider things I’ve done.

It all started with fear. Some rogue message appeared on my computer warning that if I didn’t click the link my computer would be infected with a deadly virus. I didn’t click the link. Yay, me. Smart choice. But throughout the day, I kept worrying that maybe my computer WAS getting sick and would shut down and lose all my treasured info. Hardly catastrophic on the scale of world catastrophes, but for a writer it would be quite devastating to lose a dearly beloved laptop.

Long story short, I looked for a reputable virus removal software, clicked the link to download, and that’s where it all went bad. Before I knew it, I was on the line with some outsourced customer service agent of some not-so-reputable company trying to take over my computer. As they small-talked me about the crazy weather and other random topics, they were subtly attempting to sneak info from my computer while implanting viruses.

Good thing my husband was smart enough to shut it all down and clean it all up before it was too late.

The same thing can happen with our minds. Fear sets in, leading us to seek defense. Somehow, in the process, we download bad info that attempts to take over our minds.

Take bitterness, for example. Someone hurts us. We fear they’ll hurt us again. Our defenses go up. Yet as we seek to protect ourselves, something insidious seeps into our thought life. While we initially sought to control our circumstances, we find we are the ones being controlled. Before we know it, bitterness rules our thoughts, words, and actions, if not paralyzing us completely.

The danger of allowing bad data to enter our thoughts applies in every arena, from self-hatred to racism to rage to depression. It begins with fear, moves to self-protection, then whammo! We’re the victims of a mind invasion.

When I realized what was happening to my laptop, it had to be shut down, rebooted, examined, and cleaned up. We had to put up a firewall, protecting my data from malware. We need the same defense when it comes to our thought life. And how much more valuable are our minds.

“Watch your thoughts for they become words.
Watch your words for they become actions.
Watch your actions for they become habits.
Watch your habits for they become your character.
And watch your character for it becomes your destiny.”
(Margaret Thatcher)

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Eternity in our Hearts

Blog_SunRays

“God has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

 

Photo Credit: Sun Rays | A sunset at Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon www.flickr.com