BREVITY OF LIFE

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is."                  Psalm 39:4 NLT


This day can't be repeated. We cannot go back and have a redo of our days to make up for what we may have lost, like opportunities to tell a loved one how much they mean to us or for accomplishing goals we let slip by. Perhaps we were rushed and didn't take the time to help someone or to be kind. Was there someone we needed to forgive, to make amends, and we chose not to?


There has been so many deaths lately of people we know or friends who have lost someone. Death is thought provoking. We are not promised tomorrow. We are not promised our next breath. Those who have experienced a sudden, unexpected loss of a loved one are very aware that life can change dramatically at any moment never to be the same again. Since this is my reality, I find myself thinking of life, death and heaven on a daily basis.


In my first book, there is a chapter entitled, "Death is a Teacher." The reality of our short span of life can teach us to make the most of every day, to set priorities and to trust in God. It gives perspective, compassion, and brings dependence of God and His ways which are above our ways. And the hard lesson: We are not in control of our destiny. If we allow it, many good lessons can come from the brevity of life. One is that is teaches us to focus our attention on what is most important and what really matters.


We are here "for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14). God has placed us in this century, in the area in which we live, and with the family we have. For what? Ephesians 2:10 NIV says, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
That's why we are here. Whether we acknowledge this or not it is clear: we are made for Christ and His purposes.


I want to get this life thing right. I have messed up enough, especially in my younger days, and learned life's lessons the hard way. I can't go back and redo that now. I can only learn from my mistakes that I have been forgiven for and go forward making the most of today.


It is thought that Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, wrote Ecclesiastes in the Bible. He sums up life like this: "When all is said and done, here is the last word: worship in reverence the one True God, and keep His commands, for this is what God expects of every person" (Ecc.12:13-14 The Voice).


Time is running out. Let today be the first day of the rest of your life by allowing God, the one who gives you breath and life, to guide your every step.


"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."         James 4:14 NIV