Vapor

Something that I really enjoyed during my time as a student at Northwestern was our Sunday night Praise & Worship (P&W) sessions. It was such an awesome experience to gather with my friends, classmates, and professors each week to worship and hear more about how God was working in the lives of the students and faculty on campus. 

Last semester at P&W one of my classmates shared a message about Ecclesiastes and the meaning/translation of the word "hebel." As someone who loves to study words and language, this message immediately captured my attention. Hebel is a Hebrew word that is used 38 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. Its meaning when translated into English is something along the lines of breath, vapor, or mist. While I'm not sure if any of these English translations fully capture the original meaning of their Hebrew counterpart, they do convey an idea of something that is fleeting or momentary--something that lasts only for a short time and then quickly vanishes into thin air. 

Now if we apply this concept to Ecclesiastes 1:2 (Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. / Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!) and replace the word meaningless with the word hebel we get the idea that everything in this life is like a vapor or a breath--that in the grand scheme of things, our time on earth is actually very short, just a blink in all of eternity. This new understanding of this verse helped me to remember that my life here on earth is just a teeny tiny sliver of time when compared to an eternity spent in heaven with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. It reminded me that I shouldn't waste time worrying about worldly things, but that I should focus more on things that have eternal value because the the things of this world are hebel--here one moment and gone the next, like a vapor or a breath... 

At the end of her message, the speaker shared a meditation and a song called "Vapor" (they are both titled Vapor) created by a group known as The Liturgists. The Liturgists are a collection of Christians artists and creators that produce a variety of media items such as songs, meditations, and podcasts. (check out more at their website http://www.theliturgists.com/ )

If you are looking for something to do during a devotion or quiet time, I highly suggest watching/listening to these two videos! :)