The Brevity of Life

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Scripture: Psalm 39:4-5 (NIV)

4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end

and the number of my days

let me know how fleeting my life is.

5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;

the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Everyone is but a breath,

even those who seem secure.

 

Devotion:

 

                Our psalm for today contains some very sobering, yet very wise thoughts about life and death. Just as life is full of ups and downs so the psalms help us face these changing seasons of life in the same way God prepares us for the change of seasons in the weather. As much as we think life should be all play and no work. The author in these verses reminds us there will be a time when we will have passed from this life into death.

            The writer of this psalm encourages God to show us, and us to look at how few days we humans really have to live on this planet. We are urged to number our days. Counting them should humble us as we compare our impermanence with God’s everlasting glory. The Lord we pray will be able to convince us that we are weak and finite creatures. We are created in God’s image surely enough. However, instead of eating from the tree of life we chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We now seek a long life through science and medicine instead of God and His providence.

            Next, we are confronted with the shortness of our life compared with the everlasting life that is God’s. God sees and loves us, however, God also sees our sins and had to send His son Jesus to die in our place to make us acceptable to the Father. It does not matter how healthy we may look or how many push-ups we can do, God has appointed a day for us to die. If the Lord has mercy, we may live to see 80 or 90 years before He calls us home.

            We must remain humble before God knowing that our life may end at any time. We should celebrate each minute we are alive because it is a gift from God. We are only given so many days to live and love in this world. We should use it to love and serve God and our fellow image bearers. God designed us to be creatures that would love Him and care for His creation. Let us, therefore, remember that our days are short and must be spent Loving God and our neighbor until we hear God calling us home. 

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