Skip to main content

Life is Short

Psalm 39:4-5, 7 Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before You....But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You!

 The psalmist serves up some powerful words about how short this life really is in the scheme of things. A handbreadth is about the distance of a human hand....the distance your breath appears when you breathe out on a cold day! That's pretty short. This short life is fleeting! That means that every day you live is one less day on a short countdown! The psalmist reflects on the importance of understanding that life is short.....each day is one more tick gone on a very short countdown. As he reflects on this short life we have been given, his prayer is that God would show him his life's end. I love this because I think the psalmist is seeking to envision where God wants him to end up when his days are over. He wants to gain a picture of this so that he can begin today living into that preferred dream of God for his life! There is no "dress rehearsal" for your life or mine. We get one shot at living our lives with meaning, significance, and purpose. So how does one come to the end of one's short life having lived God's dream?

 First, envision the kind of person you think God would want you to be at your life's end and then..... start living that vision today. Write down 4-5 statements that you would want the people who know you best to say about you at your funeral, and then start living that picture today. Here is mine: He was a man after God's own heart. A faithful husband and father who loved his family like crazy! He lived a life of integrity and authenticity. He served the Lord with gladness and joy. He honored God best by living with humility and trust. He helped lead people to Jesus. This is my target. What is yours? No dress rehearsal.....no "I'll do it tomorrow"....because tomorrow may never come! Start living God's dream for your life today!

 Father, You are the giver of my life. May I never take my life for granted. Save me from believing that I have all the time in the world. When You roll up the script for my life.....it's over! Let me see Your dream for my life's end.........then let me start living toward that end today! My hope is in You! Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Building Trust When Faith Wavers

  Mark 9:21-24 21 And He asked his father, How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, From childhood. 22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" 23 And Jesus said to him, `If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, I do believe; help my unbelief." Since faith is the core of our Christian experience, the consequences of wavering faith are far-reaching. Vacillating trust can lead us to make wrong decisions. Sometimes, after praying for direction, we might receive an answer that leads us to think, I can’t do that. So, instead of asking God to strengthen our faith, we make excuses. We may choose to postpone our obedience—even indefinitely—in order...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blessed Are Your Baskets, Kneading Bowls And Nets!

Deuteronomy 28:5   Blessed Are Your Baskets, Kneading Bowls And Nets! 5“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. In Bible times, reapers carried baskets on their backs to collect the harvest from the fields. They had to ensure that their baskets were strong and sturdy, so that what they collected would not fall out. The women of that day used kneading bowls to knead dough for making bread. If they used poor-quality bowls which broke easily, they would not be able to make bread. So baskets and kneading bowls in those days represented the means by which one got his tangible blessings. Beloved, your Father in heaven does not want you to worry about the means by which you get your blessings. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, He says to you, “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.” This means that if you are a cab driver, your cab will not break down on your rounds because God says to you, “Blessed shall be your cab.” If you are a businessman,...
Post a Comment
Read more

welcome to my blog

Oh the waterfall of cleansing Grace! Welcome to my Grace blog.  I hope to both share and start a dialogue about Jesus Christ and how his life, relationships and teaching have a practical working value in our everyday lives. To go beyond our belief of Jesus... and into our belief in Jesus. I hope we can learn more about how the finished work of Christ on the cross empowers his work in us in our daily lives. I hope we can grow in His Grace and Wisdom! The name came from a Joseph Prince story in his book  "Destined to Reign"...here's the story: Prince tells the story of a young boy who found a rock out in the woods. Though it looked rough at first, he rinsed it in the small waterfall of a nearby stream. Turns out, the rock was marbly, smooth, and full of color. Not wanting to lose the rock, and afraid someone would take it from him if he took it home, he buried it back in the dirt in a tucked away place before he went home for the night. There, he left it. The ne...
5 comments
Read more