Psalm 39 What Is the Measure of My Days?

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! vv5-6

Oh, that I could live like life is a breath! I run around and "heap up wealth" and try to make everything in this life perfect and set things up like they are going to last forever.

I remember when we were in the process of building our house, and everything seemed new and fresh and exciting. We would spend days in Lowes and Menards agonizing over which color of clearance tile to use, and what bathroom and kitchen fixtures were most convenient and not most costly, and how we should design the kitchen for maximum effeciency, and what color countertops and what color paint and what color siding... and on and on.

Several times, on the way home from these stores I would look out the window and see houses all around. Houses that were new at one time, houses which someone agonized over how to build and what to fill them with. Now they were old and dilapitated. Siding faded, window cracked, railing rusted... Sadness would overtake me, because I knew that no matter how sturdy we build, or how hard we try, inevitably, my new house is going to look like these someday. And I would come to my senses and pray, "Thank you, God for showing me the vanity of it all!!" I am so thankful for my wonderful home, but it is going to burn up someday, if it makes it that long.

If everything in this world lasted I would be tempted to forget why I am here. If Christmas didn't end in a let-down, I might forget that these feelings of peace and warmth and harmony are only meant to point me heaven. If the adrenaline rush that comes in athletic competition didn't fade, I might forget that those feelings of triumph are only a minute fraction compared to the triumph when the King comes back for his people and Good prevails over evil once and for all.

Life is a breath. Lord, help me to spend my energy on the things that last forever. Thank you for the daily pleasures that point us to heaven and for the daily disappointments that remind us that we're not there yet.