Weekly Devotion - #24

READ: James 4:13 - 15

What Is Your Life?

"...What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away"--James 4:14.

The Bible clearly explains that our life is short. The verse above compares our life to a vapour (fog, smoke, steam) which appears for a short time and then disappears. To help you see this, light a match. Let it burn a couple of seconds then blow it out. Watch the smoke from the match disappear. The Bible says our life is a vapour, it will soon be gone.

Since life is short, we need to be busy living it and enjoying it and doing that which is right. I learned a good lesson about life from a friend. She and I were the same age. We were both wives and mothers. We enjoyed fellowship together.

My friend began feeling ill. For several weeks she didn't feel like doing anything and became weak. Finally the doctor put her in the hospital for tests. She went in on Monday. On Wednesday I went to visit her. She told me the doctors could not find her problem and that probably on Friday she would go home. She also told me she had done a lot of thinking while in the hospital. She felt she had not been a good wife and mother, had failed as a Sunday school teacher and friend but when she got out of the hospital, things would be different. I encouraged her and prayed with her. I was happy that on Friday she would go home.

But on that same night she passed away. She did not have the opportunity to make things different. She was young and left a husband and three small boys.

This experience taught me the truth that "life is short." I made up my mind to live my life to it's best. Do what we can today. We may not have tomorrow. [FCC]

THOT: All of our lives would read like a beautiful story, if we let God do the writing. (Jo Ann)

TODAY: Know that once a second is passed it is gone forever, never to be relived.

This lesson is from  30 Heart Touching Devotions available from SWM.

You have permission to copy for personal and church use.