"Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD."
--Psalm 150
I had one of those moments again today. One of those moments when I remember - I should be dead. Maybe the use of "should" ought to be replaced with "could" because I know that God still wants me to be alive on earth. I was taking a shower after my softball game tonight, thinking about how badly we got walloped, and for some reason, I thought about the crash I was in, with three of my com-padres, back in late June. I relived it for a moment, and I remembered the rolling, the crashing sounds, the helpless out of control feeling, and the end of the crash... At the end of the crash, there was silence. I knew I was alive, but was everyone else? It didn't take long until I heard noises from each person, and somehow we survived. (I know it was God's protection.) But, I thought about it tonight. I thought about what we went through... I thought about what the truck looked like after the crash. (The picture above makes my truck look like a convertible - but it's actually just that the roof is smashed down) I remembered - I am LUCKY to be alive. I am BLESSED to be breathing. God STILL WANTS ME ON EARTH.
Have you ever gone through a near death experience? Perhaps you can relate? While my injuries were minor, and I never actually felt like I was going to die (because I wasn't hurt badly), I now live with the memory of the accident... and I remember that I should be dead. Any one of us could have died in the accident, but all four of us walked away from it. We are alive. We are not dead.
What does this mean? Well, for one thing, as we can learn from today's text from Psalm 150 - if we have breath, we should be praising the Lord! And how do we praise the Lord? How do we reflect His glory, His honor, His majesty, His supremacy, His awesomeness? Well - the easy answer is to say that we live for Him. That's a simple thought - with some heavy implications... Because there are billions of distractions that pull us away from that easy answer. Financial strife, lack of a spouse, death of loved ones, getting your butt kicked in a softball game... Those are just a few. So, as I washed the dirt off of my arms, hanging my head in defeat - God reminded me that it really didn't matter. Because - I AM ALIVE. And what on earth am I doing for Christ's sake? What are you doing?
If you're reading this, I assume you're alive. Does your life sing praise to God? Does proclaiming the Gospel, and reaching the lost guide your everyday decisions? Or are you living life for yourself - lost in the distractions the world has to offer? If you're alive - which I assume you are - then it's time to remember that it's a blessing. God still wants you on earth. For His glory. For His purpose. I was talking with one of the guys who was in the accident about it this weekend. We again came to the conclusion that it definitely happened for a reason. I still am exploring all the reasons that it happened - but one, I know with all my heart. I am ALIVE. I am alive because of Him. My life is a blessing - and I choose to give it to Him.
Posted by Ben ><>
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