December 31st - Psalm 39:4-5

Psalm 39:4-5 Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath. I will never forget the moment. I was 17 years old and a friend of mine asked me: “Have you heard about Luke?” I hadn’t. Luke was always full of life, had very long hair (as most of us did at the time) and a cheeky smile. My friend said: “He died last week in a car crash together with three friends. Their Mini hit a fuel tanker and burst into flames.” I was completely and utterly devastated. It made no sense. I couldn’t believe that he was dead. As I struggled to come to terms with Luke’s untimely death, I learnt many things. Most of all I learnt that life, which seemed so permanent, was anything but. As tragic as this moment was, it taught me to look at every single day as a miraculous gift from God. I came to realise that every day needs to be handled with the greatest possible care. In this psalm David reflects on the fleeting nature of life, something of which he was regularly reminded as he lurched from one bloody military campaign to another. In the flyleaf of John Wesley’s bible, two words were written: “Live today”. That might sound obvious enough but it’s a great challenge. God has forgiven us our sins so that we don’t need to drag yesterday’s failures and regrets into today. The future is in God’s hands, so we don’t need to waste energy on worrying about it. God has released us to enjoy the day in front of us without any distractions. Question – Are you willing to receive today as a gift from God’s hands? Prayer – Thank you Lord for the privilege of being alive today. Help me to use this day to your glory. Amen