In Psalm 39:4-6 the psalmist calls out to God,
“O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
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!
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!”
(Psalm 39:4-6 ESV)
Do you have the courage to ask this question? Do you really want to know how much longer you have to live? The writer of this psalm is so desperate to make his life more meaningful he asks God to count his days, so that he can make his days count.
If you did know the exact day you were going to die, what would you do differently? Would you find all of your selfish pursuits as enjoyable? Or would you place more value on time spent with your loved ones? Knowing how much time you had left before you were going to stand before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and face His judgment, would you spend more time in His Word?
When we stand at the throne room of God, and bow down before Him, that’s our final exam. Everything we’ve thought, done and didn’t do will be recounted and we will be held accountable for how we lived our life. Did you study for this exam or were you planning to just “wing it”?
So many of us go about our lives with blinders on. Wallowing in complacency thinking that our day of judgment is so far away why worry about it now? Surely there will be time later to clean up our act and put aside our childish ways, right?
We are not guaranteed there will be a tomorrow.
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:13-14 ESV)
How sad it is that many of us need a terminal illness or to endure some life threatening event before we can appreciate the days we have.
We work and toil our lives away, often at the expense of our family and for what? In Luke 12:16-21 we learn of the parable of the rich fool:
“And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21 ESV)
We are taught by the world to work, work, work and to save, save, save; looking forward to our retirement days. Then, and only then are we free to “live life to it’s fullest”. I’m not saying we should not plan for our retirement years, but don’t let that plan consume you to the point that you let your current life slip you by.
The message is clear. Make your days count. The only things you know for certain are the moments that have already passed, and you can’t change any of that. If change is necessary in your life, and trust me, we ALL need to make changes in our life, the time to act is now. Today.
Counting your days is easy. Ready? Let’s start with today…..one….STOP. It’s that simple. We can only be sure of today, so make today count. Study for your final exam my friends. Make sure your house is in order. Don’t be a fool. Live for today, not tomorrow. You never know when there’s going to be a pop quiz.
