Proverbs 5:11 And at the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are wasted away.
I have been thinking of people who influenced me during my life and who are no longer here. They have moved on to different parts of the world or passed on to their eternal rewards. They are no longer here to dispense and offer their friendship or give their timely wisdom I once gleaned from them. I find myself saying, “I had a good relationship with them and then they were gone.”
They left part of themselves within my psyche and I project some of their knowledge and philosophy through my own life filters, but they are gone. We will meet again one day in the presence of the Lord, but here and now there is a vacuum where they once walked with me and spoke into my life with clear, factual, and sound wisdom for living a good and righteous life.
When someone important in our life moves on to another part of the world or passes away from this life, we can become unsettled and bewildered. The part of our life they were propping up, so to speak, tends to feel like it is drooping to the ground and exercise is needed to strengthen that part of our life. Every person created has to deal with this type of loss during their short time on earth. We are temporal beings, after all, and one day it will be said of us, “Then they were gone.” James 4:14 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.
Sometimes God moves these people out of our lives. The skills these people had and we became dependent on were good for a while but now it is time for us to mature, man up or take the responsibility for our part in God’s great plan. Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. We will always be grateful to those who taught us and helped us through that portion of our life, but the time comes when we have to take the reins God gave us. John 16:13a When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
They left part of themselves within my psyche and I project some of their knowledge and philosophy through my own life filters, but they are gone. We will meet again one day in the presence of the Lord, but here and now there is a vacuum where they once walked with me and spoke into my life with clear, factual, and sound wisdom for living a good and righteous life.
When someone important in our life moves on to another part of the world or passes away from this life, we can become unsettled and bewildered. The part of our life they were propping up, so to speak, tends to feel like it is drooping to the ground and exercise is needed to strengthen that part of our life. Every person created has to deal with this type of loss during their short time on earth. We are temporal beings, after all, and one day it will be said of us, “Then they were gone.” James 4:14 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.
Sometimes God moves these people out of our lives. The skills these people had and we became dependent on were good for a while but now it is time for us to mature, man up or take the responsibility for our part in God’s great plan. Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. We will always be grateful to those who taught us and helped us through that portion of our life, but the time comes when we have to take the reins God gave us. John 16:13a When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
If there was ever a hard time for a man to step up and take the reigns of life and leadership, it is when Joshua had to take over when Moses had been taken by God. Now those were big boots to fill and a gigantic step of faith that had to take place in Joshua’s heart to become the next visionary and leader. I am sure Joshua said on a few occasions: “Now what do I do? Moses is gone.” Joshua, like everyone else in life, needed direction and encouragement from God as to what to do next. Joshua 1:2 Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.
Does the Lord move these mentors out of our lives to make us depend on God more than we have been doing? Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua, like us all, needed that word of the Lord to accelerate him toward his destiny written by God. I am sure there were times when Joshua and Caleb said to themselves: “Then they were gone and we have to step up and do it.” However, they became legends in life and a blessing to their generation.
Does the Lord move these mentors out of our lives to make us depend on God more than we have been doing? Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua, like us all, needed that word of the Lord to accelerate him toward his destiny written by God. I am sure there were times when Joshua and Caleb said to themselves: “Then they were gone and we have to step up and do it.” However, they became legends in life and a blessing to their generation.
I write these thoughts in memory and gratitude of all the people throughout my life who have given me good and honest insight into living a worthwhile life. I might sound like I’m at a podium, the recipient of some award listing all the people who made my life possible and victorious. Maybe there should be a list written up and then prayed over, giving thanks to God for His goodness toward all the great people He brought into my life for the growth I needed. This might be a good idea because inevitably we will all look back one day and realize they are gone. Hopefully, they will be blessed with what we did with the impute they gave us for a God-like life. To everyone who has blessed me with their friendship, I say: “Thank You.”
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