Psalm 89:5

 

Behold you have made my days as handbreaths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath--Psalm 89:5

 

Thinking about this passage, I am struck with the thoughts that our lives on this earth are only for a short time, and we should live each day as if we knew that at the end of the day our sojourn on this earth would be ended. Our souls are encased in a weak human body that will each day face a perilous way as we journey on toward eternity. Every step of the way we have an adversary who will spare no effort to prevent us from one day hearing our Lord say, "Well done, enter into the joy of your master" (1 Peter 5:8; Matthew 25:21). The devil has a plan that includes you and I. He will work overtime in an effort to get us to disregard God's word. Remember Eve in the garden and Lot's wife as she left Sodom (Gen. 3; Gen. 19). Do the words, "I know God says but I believe" ring a bell with you?

 

The devil's plan includes getting us to become loyal to men rather than loyal to Christ (Matt. 15:9; Matt. 7:21-23; Gal. 1:6-10). O how he loves it when preacheritis or elderitis takes up residence in our hearts (1 Cor. 1:11-12; 1 Cor. 4:1-6).  His plan also calls for convincing us to talk a lot about what needs to be done, about our concerns for the spiritual and physical welfare of others, then do nothing (James 2; Matt. 25; Gal. 6:10; 1 Cor. 15:58). The devil is content for us to read the bible so long as we don't really study and apply it to our lives (2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Pet. 3:18). The devil is an opportunist and he will take advantage of any foothold we give him even if it is seems to be only a small one. Every area of our lives that we fail to guard diligently, he will launch an all out attack against it.

 

I love that beautiful song that says, "Slowly we are turning life's pages. How will you use God's golden moments? Will you reap glory or will you reap tears"? Given how brief our lives are, all of us should pause for a moment an really examine ourselves as to how we are using these golden moments God has given us.

 

Charles Hicks