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Vapor – Week 32 / August 5th
“Certainly every man at his best state is but a vapor.”
Psalm 39:4-11
David who had an intimate knowledge of God considered his life on earth a mere vapor! Vapor is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as, “Moisture that for a brief moment is suspended in air!” Given that this is our lot we would do well to take stock of our lives and employ them in eternal values and matters. There is no doubt that the idea that we are just vapor means that we are here today and gone tomorrow. We should therefore number our days well and not squander them on useless pursuits. (Ephesians 5:15) For David this meant:
1. Putting our hope in God
This requires that each day we cast ourselves completely upon Him and live in a way that pleases Him. (Colossians 1:10) Our focus must be upon Jesus (Colossians 3:1) and should take the form of deliberate prayer, meditation, thanksgiving and service. (1Thessalonians 5:15-22) We need to think more deeply about this than we do and close each day with a short time of evaluation before God.
2. Being delivered from transgressions
Paul exhorts us in 2Corinthians 7:1 to cleanse ourselves from all “filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” Desisting from outward sins in the flesh is easy but what about the sins of our spirits? These lurk like rats in the corridors of our hearts and defile us. This is the source of Christian defeat and failure and we must let God’s light shine upon our spirits before what is lurking in them becomes observable in our actions. (Revelation 3:1) All this means, walk close to Jesus and keep short accounts of sin with Him. (1John 1:9)
3. Accepting heavenly correction
The Lord disciplines us for our good so that our lives that are just vapor may have importance and significance. All discipline is not joyous at the time but it does yield a harvest of righteousness in the lives of those subjected to it. Happy are those who are trained by it for if we are not partakers of it we are not real sons and daughters of God. (Hebrews 12:5-11)
Being a mere vapor reminds us of how special the days allotted to us are. We are just like flowers that bloom and fade almost immediately. (1Peter 1:24-25) It is amazing to think that which starts out as nothing more than vapor and a withering flower can end as an eternal “stone” in God’s glorious kingdom. (1Peter 2:4-5) How wonderful the grace of God is!
Malcolm Hedding.
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
2013Devotional