The Dash Devotion

As a member of the Leadership team at Community Bible Study, each leader is required to give an opening devotional. This morning was my turn. After debating the topic and procrastinating by watching Whitney Houston's home going service, this is what God laid on my heart. I hope you are encouraged, motivated, and challenged by what I said. Here it is in its entirety.

I was extremely challenged by what to say for this devotion. Most of you don’t know me well nor do you know much about me. I am a Christian saved in October 1985, a wife, a mom, an aunt, a godparent, a friend, a blogger, a travel agent, a former IRS employee, a connoisseur of good food and a person who loves to travel. I am also a repressed bartender and a repressed English teacher. I am a host of other things, a list too long to mention. One thing I am is a pop culture junkie. As you know, Whitney Houston died a little over a week ago. I was saddened but not totally shocked. As the week leading to her funeral played out over every news broadcast, I got to thinking about her life and what it represented. I got to thinking about my own life and what it represents. I think we all tend to take a personal inventory at the beginning of each year. Our life really is the dash between our birth date and death date. Some call it our sunrise and sunset. We don’t know the date nor do we know the hour that God is going to bring us home. The dash is relatively small but it represents the total of our life experiences good, bad, and yes even ugly.

What does that dash really tell others? Nothing. My experience is as varied as yours. Maybe you were a rebellious child but got yourself together by the time you became a young adult. Perhaps your college years were filled with booze, boys, and parties. Maybe as an adult you’ve suffered from depression and anxiety. Perhaps you had dreams and aspirations but an illness or a husband and children came along and have made you table your goals. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Maybe now even as you sit here in leadership, you are wondering what God’s purpose for your life really is. Perhaps God has told you to do something and you have ignored the call because you don’t think you are good enough, articulate enough, or smart enough. 

Whatever your reality is, it is not a surprise to God. Aren’t you glad He sees the best in us when others see our failures and shortcomings? So what does that have to do with the dash? Well the dash really represents God’s ordered plan for your life. Jeremiah 29:11-13 says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” He knew when you’d stray, and when you’d fall. He also knew that He’d always give you an opportunity to run into His loving arms and weep and pray, and poor out your heart to him. He never shuts down so we can go to Him 24/7. 

At some point, we’ve all been like the prodigal daughter or prodigal wife. Maybe we’ve been the prodigal friend or the Prodigal Christian. We didn’t trust God enough to do what He said He would do which is to work everything for good for those who love Him. We had to be independent, do it our way, on our own. We strayed away from the confines of a safe place where we received unconditional love and understanding into a sea of sinfulness and wayward living and thinking. We satisfied our fleshly desires and perhaps hurt some dear loved ones along the way. We all know that only what we do for Christ will last. We also know that life gets in the way and sometimes our motives for doing things are simply wrong. Sometimes our agenda is self-centered, not Christ focused. Matthew 12:30(NLT) says, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.” None of wakes up thinking, “Hmm, let me see if I can oppose God today.” We don’t willingly want to harm God but that is what happens our actions aren’t pleasing and reflective of His character.   

When the fog lifts and we find our way back to what we left, don’t we want to be welcomed? Don’t we hope that we don’t have to be reminded of our guilt? Don’t we pray we don’t have to deal with an older brother or spouse or friend who is too angry to welcome us with open arms and forgive us of our transgression and moment of insanity? Every day we must purpose in our hearts to look to Christ, not the people He puts in our path. Those people will cause us to stumble because we can’t control their actions or reactions. We can only control our own thoughts, words, and actions. No matter how off track we may get, we can always find our way back to God. Psalm 46:1 says that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” 

So, what if you have been doubting your ability to do something God has been nudging you to do? That task that you are ignoring may be the most important aspect that your dash is supposed to represent. If God has called you, you are equipped to do the job with His guidance. No need to be afraid or worry. I Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Maybe you are at a loss as to where to begin. You might need to put your vision down on paper. In chapter 2 verse 2-3, God told Habakkuk, “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; It will certainly come and will not delay.” Research has proven that putting our goals down on paper means they are more likely to come to fruition. So write it down, even if it doesn’t make sense or doesn’t look like it has a chance of occurring. With God all things are possible and not be cliche, yes we can do everything through Him who gives us strength. 

Then you might need to get an accountability partner to keep you on track. Choose that person wisely. 1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us, “Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character.” Make sure the person shares your vision and puts their confidence in God and prays often. Your person needs to be honest, respectful, encouraging, gentle and intimate. Those are strong shoes to fill. Ask the Lord to lead you to the right person, your partner may not be your best friend. Jus saying…..something to think about. As much as we need God, we still need other people. It is through relationship, the God builds our character and teaches us to love others as much as we love ourselves. 

All that being said, one day all of us are going to die. We don’t get to be privy to what will be said at our funeral/memorial service. Whatever words are spoken will be representative of what we did with our dash. It is the only place where every single one of our worlds actually collide. It is almost funny that we don’t get to witness it. Let’s face it, we have all been to a service where things were said that revealed a whole other side of a person that we didn’t know. People let you see what they want you to see. You can know a person but not KNOW the person. Whatever the case, make sure your dash reflects who you really are. Your character is supposed to be consistent. The work Pam should be consistent with the church Pam. The neighborhood Pam should be consistent with the friend Pam and on and on. Your lasting impression on this earth is really up to you. 

What will your legacy be? Will you have done great things for Christ? Will people even know that you loved the Lord? Or will they sit at your service thinking who the heck is this person that they are talking about? Will you be known for the fruit of your labor, will God be in the details? Think about the legacy you want to leave behind. If you died today would you like what people have to say or do you want to change the perception? Your dash is totally driven by you. Your life is calling, get busy living, changing, moving, and shaking. God has laid the foundation, we just need to order our steps and carry it out. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I close with The Dash Poem which was written by Linda Ellis: 

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the date of her tombstone

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke of the following date with tears

But he said what matters most of all

Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth

And now only those who loved her

Know what the little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own,

The cars, the house, the cash

What matters most is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about it long and hard;

Are things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

That can still be arranged.

If we can just slow down enough

To consider what’s true and real

And always try and understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect

And more often wear a smile,

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read,

With your life’s actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?