Psalm 39:4-7

Psalm 39

4 “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

5 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! Selah

6 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!

7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

Lord, let me know how fleeting I am… that life is a mere breath. Are you living with this perspective? James also describes life as a vapor, here and gone so quickly. Solomon stated that this life is vanity… meaningless.

It is so easy to live like this life is what matters. In verse six it says ‘surely for nothing they are in turmoil.’ We fret, worry, stress, and consume ourselves with the things of this world. We put so much stake in our standing here- our popularity, wealth, profession, appearance…. But this life is just a moment.

Eternity is what matters. Are you living with that in mind? Concerned in a way beyond just your salvation? Storing your treasure in Heaven? What would my life look like if I consumed my thoughts with eternal matters just as much or  than I do with those things that are temporary? What would I spend my time doing?

What are waiting for? Our hope is only in Christ (v. 7). Value the things of this world and the opinions of others a little less, and begin caring more for things of eternal value.

James 4:14- What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Ecclesiastes 1:3- What does man gain by all the toil
 at which he toils under the sun?

Matthew 6:19-21- Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.