“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14
Though I really had no reason to, I’d just talked to him a week ago! A blast from the past, his name had popped into my head, leaving impact enough to make me pursue the nudge. That I was able to even remember his name, then miraculously find a phone number for him, was a miracle. We talked… his situation? Bad, but improving. He made a promise. Now he is gone!
It had been YEARS since we last talked. Things weren’t really good back then either. But I encouraged and pushed and warned… doing it all in the Name of the Jesus who called me to do just that! When money was stated as a problem, I hired him to do a job for me. He did it well and I paid him. But nothing seemed to click. After several months… he left!
Look… I don’t have an exact, detailed answer to ‘WHY’ any more than anyone else. Too often I can’t even phrase the question well enough to deserve an answer. But I have learned WRONG answers for a LOT of stupid excuses that people fall for, far too easily! ‘NO!’ God did not take your loved one! ‘NO!’ They’re NOT looking down on you from heaven to help guide you now!
Forrest Gump used the line in a movie by the same name. In it he said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” It’s a line that should be found in the Bible under the authorship of David, or his stupid son Solomon! Solomon, the WISEST man ever to live on earth, ended up specializing in stupid so well, that he lost his kingdom. So who am I to think that ‘I’ am exempt from it’s clutches?
I’ve seen this kind of sadness too often. It comes with the business. People are born… people die. People rise up… people fall. And everybody dies! The only thing ‘stupider’ than death, is our living life as if it really won’t happen to US! I’ve intervened in many lives, giving God’s Word and my experience as warning ‘if’ lines are crossed. I even have photos, after stupid shows! ‘Maybe if ‘you’ would have said it nicer…’ people have added.
I write this to remind myself. Katie HATES the word stupid, but I like it. Because it CLEARLY defines deliberate disobedience. “DO NOT TOUCH THE FIRE.. YOU WILL BE BURNED!” TSSSS! I’ve learned that, when it comes to consequences, there are many accidents. God had whispered His Spirit and sent warning through word and people. Not obeying… is a choice!
I generally know what God wants me to do, think or believe. Acting on it usually meets distraction in the form of a stupid excuse, reason or personal benefit outside of His counsel. Today, I am going to review the potential consequences BEFORE I make my choice. May God help us ALL hear Him… VERY clearly! And DO what He says!
