By Pastor William Y. K. Brown Ph.D
(Resident Pastor)
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Osu-Bethel.
Tel: 0244165628/0243310773.
wykbrown@gmail.com
FRIDAY
THEME: LIFE IS SHORT: A FACT OF LIFE”
SCRIPTURE: Psalms 39:7
“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”
REFLECTIONS
As humans, we are constantly troubled by our sins. Unconfessed sins are terrible and may cause us to fall out of God’s favor. Throughout generations, it is evident that sin elicits God’s displeasure. David was no exception. In Psalms 38, the psalmist acknowledges that there is a divine discipline that follows sin. He further expresses the connection between sin and suffering (verses 2-4) and requests in verses 21-22 – “Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” He prayed, “For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.” Verse 15.
In Psalms 39, David continues to pray for wisdom, forgiveness, and deliverance—a prayer for help. Due to the anguish he had from sin, he decided to be silent and be careful not to sin with his tongue by complaining in order not to give room for the ungodly to despise God (verses 1-2). In this chapter, the author discusses the brevity of life, which we often brush aside. While contemplating, he requested: [4]“Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. [5]Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah [6]Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.”- verse 4-6.
There is hope even when life is short, and humans are like vapor. David admits, in verses 7-8,11 – [7]“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. [8]Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish. [11]When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth; Surely every man is vapor. Selah.” God will forgive, deliver, and sustain.
The brevity of life is a fact. Throughout human history, everyone agrees that life is short. Even for Methuselah, who lived for 969 years, life was short compared to eternity. But life here on earth, if placed in Christ, is a continuum. There is a brief break when humans go to sleep (die), but it continues when Christ comes. In John 11:25-26 – “[25]Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. [26]And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John says in 1 John 2:25, “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” We can live with hope today.
MY SONG OF COMMITMENT
“Life is Short” by Bernice Offei – A Gospel Singer
LET US PRAY
– Praise and thank God for the relationship He has with you; thank God for His forgiveness, correction, and deliverance; pray to hope in Him for eternal life;
– Pray for your loved ones to realize life is short so they will commit their lives to Christ in earnest; pray for any believer who has fallen to return to Christ for renewal;
– Pray for Christians to work to lead the ungodly to God for salvation; pray for families that are mourning, widows/widowers, and orphans;
– Pray for people in countries at war, disaster areas, and violence; pray for the sick, the peace of the nation, and unity among family members.
