Day 53: Our Lives Are Only a Breath

Today’s Scripture: Psalm 39:1-13

Central Thought: Our lives will quickly pass; our choices today will determine our eternity

When we are young, twenty years seems like an eternity. We cannot imagine how quickly it will pass. But when we reach the age where we have more years behind us than in front of us, twenty years seems like such a short time.

When a parent tells a very young child, ‘Christmas will be here in only one month,” the child wakes up each day expecting that day to be Christmas. Time seems to drag endlessly for the child. However, if a doctor tells a patient, ‘You have only a month to live,” that month seems like an hour.

We are given a limited time on earth. The closer we get to the end of our lives, the faster time seems to pass. Our perspective determines our perception of time.

God’s view of time is very different from ours. His existence is limitless. He has eternity behind Him and eternity in front of Him; therefore, He views time from an eternal perspective.

In our Scripture reading, the psalmist David declares, ‘The span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath” (verse 5, NIV). Realizing how fleeting life is, David asks for forgiveness for his transgressions and recognizes that his hope is in God.

How would you live today if you knew that it would be your last day on earth?

Devotional Prayer: Father, help us to realize that our time here is very short and to remember that the decisions we make now will affect our eternal future.

Today’s Bible Reading: Leviticus 13:1-59; Mark 6:1-29; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 10:10