JUST BE 30 – DAY CHALLENGE

Just Be Alive – Day Ten

Webster says ‘Alive’ means full of energy and spirit; lively; having the quality of life; vivid, vibrant

Synonyms: eager, ready, animated, spirited, abounding, awake

GOD says in Habakkuk 2:4, ‘Look at that man, bloated by self-importance – full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive.

This year began with the same ball-drop and Auld Lang Syne as any other year. Many stepped into the year with renewed vigor and excitement about a brand new decade not yet colored on or spoiled; hope on the tips of peoples tongues and glitter on the edges of their thoughts.
I am a numbers person. I love numbers. I dream about numbers, seriously. I remember numbers easier than I recall names; I may not remember much about you but I likely recall your phone number or address. It’s pretty startling. So I also love the study of numbers and I believe there are Biblical meanings that are even more startling and credible. So, for me, 2020 was like dangling a priceless opportunity in front of because the Biblical numerical meaning for the number twenty is perfect waiting. Multiple that and you get 2020 and perfect vision and all the good things that people spoke of as this year kicked off.

And then March hit and the face of this year changed forever. We are making history that our grandchildren will study about as we settle our children in makeshift classrooms fashioned by laptops and ZOOM calls. We have become creative not because we chose to but because we have had to. We study numbers in a way I never thought possible as my generation hasn’t been a generation crippled by war and polio vaccines and death tolls. ‘Til now.
But I think we are also settling into an apathy and we should catch ourselves before we are too far in; before we fall through cracks and disappear. We already have been facing a pandemic called suicide but those are numbers we don’t want to discuss or it’s too uncomfortable to broach that topic or some things are best left behind closed doors. In January of this year, suicide was the tenth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the CDC. It states that ‘while thousands of people die by suicide each year, millions think about it’.

So, I am challenged, and I wish to challenge you too, be alive. Really alive; the alive that hope in Jesus makes us. Not just going through the motions; not just putting in a little bit of effort but standing out, victorious, with a song on your lips and joy in your heart. Be energetic and animated, spirited and eager. It is how we are transparent and how we live that causes someone to want the Jesus that we have. Someone doesn’t want my Jesus if I am downcast in my soul with a somberness in my step and wearing an emotional mask. Instead, those we come in contact with are curious about our loyalty and our right standing with God. So be vibrant. Be vivid. Be present. Be alive.

Day 10 Challenge: Spend the day being present. Enjoy the moments of today without looking ahead with fear or looking in the past with regret. Focus on enjoying the small blessings that your daily life brings and thank God for it all.