This life is not all there is!
In college, I had a friend who I loved to be with. She and I had many of the same classes. We studied together and enjoyed being with one another. Exam time found us studying all night for a physics exam. After the exam we walked to our cars and decided to meet for supper so we could study for our next exam – chemistry. That afternoon, I got a call from my friend’s mother telling me she had been killed in a car crash. A drunk driver ran a stop light and she was killed on impact.
Sometimes life seems too short and full of sorrow. I encourage you to read Psalm 38 and Psalm 39. Psalm 38 ends with a call for help, and Psalm 39 ends with a plea to be left alone. David is confused. He is speaking to God in a way that allows his heart to come clean in the presence of the Father. The Father is teaching David to trust Him in circumstances he doesn’t understand. In Psalm 39, David bemoans his suffering and exclaims, “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere hand-breadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” (vv. 4-5)
Life is short, even if we live to be 100 years old. My wife’s grandmother on her 99th birthday had a big party. We drove to North Carolina to celebrate with her. I asked how she was ,and her reply was, “Honey, I feel like I’m a hundred!” She lived to see her 100th birthday, but even then life was short. Our earthly life seems like a drop in time.
We can say with David, “My hope is in (the Lord).” (v. 7) We can trust that our lives do have meaning. The older we get, the slower our bodies become. Our bodies seem to waste away. Yet, we can have confidence that “inwardly, we are being renewed day by day,” and one day we’ll enjoy eternal life with Jesus (II Corinthians 4:16-5:1). God “has given us the Spirit…guaranteeing what is to come.” (v. 5)
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Image: Roberto Nickson
Image: Roberto Nickson