“You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.” Psalm 39:5 NIV
David acknowledged the brevity of life, confessing that our days are but a handbreadth. A handbreadth, four fingers wide, was a very short unit of measurement in the ancient world. Only the finger was smaller. He understood a significant fact: the span of our lives is as nothing before the Lord, who is eternal. When we’re young, 70, 80 or 90 years may seem like a long time. But when we view the few fleeting years of life in light of God and eternity, they are nothing. David had a similar thought in mind when he wrote Psalm 8:3-4: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” Looking up at the night sky should give us the sense of being a speck in time in comparison to the eternal God, who spoke the universe into existence. If we look carefully on a clear night, we can spot Andromeda Galaxy, the most distant object visible to the naked eye. If we could travel at the speed of light, it would take us 2.2 million years to get there! It contains hundreds of billions of stars. Let us think about this and then pray with David (Psalm 39:4), “Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.” David understood another fact: at best, our lives are altogether vanity. This refers to the emptiness or futility of life apart from God, as is spelt out in Ecclesiastes.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, without You at the centre of our lives, our lives are meaningless.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. Help me to keep You at the centre of my life, each and every day. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Ruth 1:6-18
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