READING: Psalms 39-41, 53, 55, 58
It’s strange, actually, how the longer we live, the more we recognize the brevity of life. It seems we realize how quickly life moves and how short life is as we get older. I know it’s been decades, but it feels to me like it was just yesterday when God saved me at age 13, when I married Pam at age 30, and when I graduated with my PhD at age 36. The years that have passed since then now seem to have moved so quickly that it’s hard to believe it’s been as long as it has.
The psalmist described life’s brevity as, “Lord, make me aware of my end and the number of my days so that I will know how short-lived I am. In fact, you have made my days just inches long, and my life span is as nothing to you” (Psa 39:4-5). Life is, after all, like a vapor that is here for only a moment before it disappears (Psa 39:5, 11). Life is indeed short.
At the same time, the psalmist also recognizes that we too often rush around to gain stuff, not thinking about the fact that we will not ultimately know where the stuff ends up after we’re gone (Psa 39:6). All is vanity in that sense apart from a personal relationship with God. When we recognize the brevity of life, however, we ought to make wise decisions about following our Creator. Our hope is in Him.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Does the brevity of life change the way you live today?
TODAY’S PRAYER: “God, stop me from living for this temporary world. Make me aware of my numbered days.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Psalms 61-62, 64-67