Fleeting and Faithful

“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! 
    Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions…
    Surely all mankind is a mere breath!”

“So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

“As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.” Psalm 39:4-8a,11c; 90:12; 103:13–18

Since Eden, the number of man’s days here on earth, originally intended to be endless, are limited. Everyone is born, everyone dies, his days known exclusively by the creator and sustainer of life. Each person is appointed a life fleeting as grass, within His boundaries in its place and time, to be lived faithfully for God. (Genesis 3:22-24; Job 33:4; Psalm 139:13-16; Ecclesiastes 3:2; 9:12; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 9:27)

Recognition of the limited number of our days triggers distinct reactions. For the one who lives only for this life, it presents either a frenzy sown with impatience, or frozen despair. For the one who lives for temporal pleasure and the charms of this world, it can trigger avarice and hurry to experience every frivolity and amass earthly treasure. But for the one he sees himself as a sojourner here whose citizenship is in heaven and knows that the best is yet to come, days and hours are intently spent in fruitful occupation and glad offering to the Potentate of time. (Psalm 16:6)

What are our life passions and priorities? Where are we wasting time and resources? What sense of urgency prods us forward? Is it to go and do for selfish satisfaction, or to invest in eternal efforts that nurture God’s kingdom? Do we explore worldly wisdom from an array of sources, or delve into the Word? Is conversation filled with inane chatter and fruitless dreams, or do we speak boldly to encourage others’ faith, of God’s greatness and salvation? (Psalm 40:8-10; Ephesians 5:15-20)

“A charge to keep I have, 
a God to glorify, 
a never-dying soul to save, 
and fit it for the sky. 

To serve the present age, 
my calling to fulfill, 
O may it all my pow’rs engage 
to do my Master’s will! 

Arm me with jealous care 
as in Thy sight to live, 
and now Thy servant, Lord, prepare 
a strict account to give!

Help me to watch and pray,
and still on Thee rely,
O let me not my trust betray,
but press to realms on high.” ~Charles Wesley (1762)

Lord, may I wisely, faithfully serve You here, in hope of heaven.