Psalm 39:4-6 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 39:4-6 on biblegateway.com
Verse 4"Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
Verse 5You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
Verse 6Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
Devotion
Life is transient. We are mere breaths and shadows, the writer of this psalm bitterly declares. How short life is becomes especially real when bad things happen. This awareness can lead to complaint, as it does in this psalm, and sometimes with good reason! It can also lead to cynicism and a sense of life’s futility. Or, it may help us gain perspective on life’s purpose. We sometimes “heap up” as the psalm says, as though we are going to live forever. In the end, what are all those piles of possessions really worth? Life is short. We are called to live it with a deep sense of purpose. That purpose can be found in following Jesus.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, you have called us to follow you even to the Cross. May we, in doing that more faithfully, find great fulfillment in life whatever the length of our lives may be. Amen.