Day 33 of Lent, Psalm 39:

Some days seem too short. There isn’t enough time to get the things done that I want to get done.  Unexpected interruptions and glitches in the day make me wish I had more time.  Other days feel too long. I want evening to come in order to get the day over with, so I can go to bed. It was a bad day, I am tired and it is time to move on and sleep!

Days are interesting to me; they are spent and then that day is over. There is no way to hit rewind and retrieve it, or fast-forward it to skip over it. One of the most profound questions I think we can ask ourselves is, “How will I spend my days? Overall, will my days be invested or spent?”

The following verses in Psalm 49, altered how I viewed the use of my days. It was as if, I had been wearing dark sunglasses and all of a sudden, the glasses were lifted, enabling me to see a little more clearly.

“Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath.”

“You have made my days.”

God is the maker of our days. He created us with breathe, life and days to live. How will we live them?

“Days as handbreadths.”

God made our days like the width of a hand— not very wide. David wants it understood how short the span of life is. In other words, He is saying, “Our days are short.” If we understand this, then it will affect how we live our days: will we invest them or spend them?

“My lifetime is nothing in your sight.”

Compared to God’s span, our life doesn’t last that long. He is eternal; and our days are so small in comparison to the “Ancient of Days.”

“A mere breath”

On a cold winter day, I can see my breath. It is there and then gone.  That is what my life is like. It passes quickly.

Invest or Spend?

I have countless words in my head regarding this topic, yet there are a few things that stick out to me. Days and even life can seem long for some. For others, life is cut short.  Both experiences are relatively short– like a breath. This is how God, the maker of my days, made them; how am going to live them out? What will I do with them? I think the answer to these questions is found with the Maker of my days. Think about the following questions:

• What is close to God’s heart?
• What was Jesus about? Jesus came to earth and said that if you have seen Him then you have seen see the Father. Jesus was God and reflected God. He says to follow Him. Is this part of the answer?
• What about eternity? If there is an eternal life after this short life, then what can I know about it? Does this have anything to do with how I spend my days?

Each day is different.  Usually I wish I had more time in my day. But really what I need is to invest my days more wisely, as if I am living a “breath:” invested in what God cares about, going where Jesus leads, with eternity in focus. A mere breath can make a difference.

God is the maker of my days.  How will I invest them?