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 NIV
We have all seen mist floating in the air, over the land, the water, and high atop the hills and mountains. It floats down from the sky blanketing the land. The mist consists of tiny particles of water that are barely visible. God says in James we are a mist.
What is mist?
Mist is caused by particles of water vapor filling the air until it is only partially transparent.
For some, the mist is an unwanted problem. Moisture, fog, limited visibility, and condensation. We are a mist?
God's word also says;
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17
Are you familiar with the redwood trees on the west coast? These trees can grow to over 300 feet in height. Many Sierra redwoods are between 250 and 300 feet tall, the tallest being about 325 feet high. While their height is impressive, the real wonder of a Sierra redwood lies in its bulk. Many of these giants have diameters over 30 feet near the ground, with a corresponding circumference of over 94 feet!
How does water get up to the top of one of these 300-foot trees? Is it pumped all the way to the top from the ground?
They have no tap root and a shallow root system. So this is impossible. This shallow root system has some benefits.
The shallow roots absorb necessary oxygen from the top layers of soil. The top layers of the soil are more oxygen-rich than the deeper layers. Extensive shallow roots form a dense mat that helps keep redwoods from falling in storms and floods.
But how do they get the water to the top of the trees?
By reaching these heights the trees can survive in dry seasons. How?
They survive on only the moisture they can extract from the mist. Condensing the mist against their trunks, redwoods create fog drips that cool and roll down grooves in their bark flowing down the length of the tree to the roots that nurture it. This mist keeps them alive and growing.
For these trees this mist means life. These redwoods grow tall and strong from this mist. This shows how mist can have a great impact in the right circumstances.
In this scripture, God says we are a mist, so in the right circumstances, we also can have an impact. We can help our brothers and sisters grow strong and tall in their spiritual walk with the Lord. We can help them have life!
This is what I believe the scripture is saying. We may be small droplets almost unnoticeable, a nuisance for some, but we can make a difference in this world.
As Christians, our life may be but a mist yet we can help bring hope, love, and even life to all that we touch. We need to spread God's message to all we are in contact with. The good news, the Gospel, and the joy they can have in their life. How they can live again!
We must be about our father's business for as the scripture says we only appear for a little while and our life vanishes.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20