Vapors

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      James 4:13-14 says, “  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”    

     I used to carry a “Day Timer” calendar that had all of my days planned out, or at least, I thought I had them planned out.  Every now and then a few things would get changed by unforeseen events, or as some might call it, “interruptions.”  I have attempted to do these devotions for the past  year or more, only to find them often interrupted by various stays in the hospital.  The last stay was more than I thought it was going to be and resulted in going on hospice thinking the end was near and it probably could still be near.  Only God knows that date.  So far, so good, and thought I would try to get a few more devotions out.  

     James reminds us that we can often make plans for one thing or another but it is really God that knows if we have a tomorrow or if we don’t have a tomorrow, or where tomorrow will be spent.  James also describes our days as similar to a vapor.    A vapor is probably one of the shortest lasting items around since it is seen for just a moment and then disappears into the atmosphere almost instantly.  In regard to eternity, our lives on earth are short to put it mildly.  Am I against planning ahead for things?  Certainly not as planning is good.  I had a doctor recently ask me what my goals were for the next couple of months.  I guess he was trying to see if I had any purposes to try to fulfill.  I replied, “I want to finish well.”  That must have caught him by surprise as he then asked, “What do you mean by that?”  I mentioned the passage where Paul told Timothy that he as ending his race, so to speak and that he wanted to do what God had wanted him to do.  He had finished the course.  “I would like to finish the course well and to do what God has wanted me to do.  In trying to finish well, we should also be ready for an interruption or a change in plans here and there as God moves you from one place to another.  There might be someone He wants you to meet today.  Praise God for His directions in our lives.