Psalm 39
As we draw to the end of our summer I reflect on how quickly it has disappeared. I distinctly remember setting goals around Memorial Day and thinking how far in the future Labor Day was. I fondly remember the simple joys of this summer, vacation time with our families, men's cookouts, book club meetings, and playing baseball with our grandchildren. I also remember the struggles many in our church family had this summer. There you have it; the whole summer is gone.
King David must have had a similar experience because he wrote at the end of one season of life, "Let me know how fleeting my life is. Each man's life is but a breath." Psalm 39
Life is like being outside on a cold, brisk morning when you exhale warm air from your lungs and it forms a definite cloud. The cloud is real; you can see it, but just as quickly as the cloud was made, it disappears. The dissipation of that cloud is a reminder of the frailty and the brevity of human life.
A few years ago a group named "Five for Fighting" sang a popular song called "100 Years." The premise of the song is that if you've only got 100 years to live, then 15 is a great age to be because you've got plenty of time—"time to buy, time to lose, time to choose." 22 isn't bad either, as you're just crossing the threshold into grown-up pursuits. At 33 or so it feels like things are coming together—you have people in your life and work to do. But at 45 you're nearing the halfway mark, and time is slipping away. At 67 the sun is falling toward the horizon, and before you know it, you're 99, wondering where the time went and wishing you were 15 again, even for a moment.
David said it is a good thing to question how we spend our lives. He asks this exact question in verse 7, "But now, Lord, what do I look for?" We need to evaluate and consider how we are living our few, brief days on earth. A short life should be spent wisely. We would be foolish to misspend a single hour.
So where do we find the answer? David points us to a relationship with the living God. He says, "My hope is in you." Life is more than the events that happen in a summer. Life is growing to know and love God more each day. Allow God to teach you what really counts in life. If you don't, one day you will be "99 simply wishing you were 15 again."
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