Life is short.

Life is short.

We have all been confronted with this reality in one way or another during this pandemic.

The time we have to spend in this life is precious to us, and it should be, every moment counts.

But there is also some value in remembering what David wrote about in Psalm 39.

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, "I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence."  I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse.  My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:  "O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!  Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (Psalm 39:1-5 ESV)

David describes his life here on this earth as fleeting, like a few handbreadths.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term, a handbreadth is the width of a hand, about 3-4 inches.

Indeed, compared to the everlasting eternity of God’s existence, our natural lives are but a mere breath.

James puts it this way.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"--  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15 ESV)

What can we learn from this truth?

First, David recognized that his anger against the wicked was silly given the brevity of his life. 

Second, we can acknowledge that we have less control over our own mortality than we want to admit.

Third, we can be thankful that, in Christ, the life we will have in the presence of the Lord is secure and not subject to the same fragility that our natural life has become because of the futility of sin.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13 ESV)

Keep safe, be well, and stay encouraged.

Brian