Monday Meditations: Life is Too Short

Life is too short.

How many times have we heard this saying? Personally, I’ve lost count. And I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve said this to others, often preceded by “let it go....” It is my go-to phrase when someone is obsessing on a petty issue in his or her life.

But did you know the concept of this thought is in the Bible? Psalms 90:12 reads, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” This psalm was written by Moses as prayer. I enjoy reading the prayers of Biblical characters. Those words can give great insight into their state of mind (just as our prayers reveal where our hearts really are. But that’s for another day).

We can sense the gravity of Moses’ words. God’s sense of time, he says, it very different than ours, a thousand years being like one day to him and as brief as a night watch. Moses also compares human life to new grass that grows in the morning but is withered by the evening.

That grass, according to Moses, is exactly how sinful people end up. Under the heat of God’s wrath, they wither. Even more sobering, Moses laments that, if our lives last to seventy years, eighty if we’re strong, most of that time is spent under God’s anger. After all this, Moses asks the Lord to teach us to number our days. In essence, life is too short to spend it under God’s wrath.

I’ve read Psalms 90 before and I can’t say that I fully grasped the truth of verse 12 before now. I never made the connection between wisdom and numbering our days even though it’s there, loud and clear. Most of us would think that considering the brevity of life is depressing, and that it’s not wise to spend our times thinking about it.

But there is wisdom in this practice. If we understand how short life is, then we will wisely decide what to spend our precious few days on. I don’t want to be like Moses, feel like the majority of the days are lived under sorrow because of my sin.

Who wants to spend their entire life withering under God’s wrath? That’s simply not wise. It is wise, however, to consider how our actions effect the few days that we have. Even more wise would be not to waste not one of those days.

Sin is a waste of time. Yes, God can use the sins we’ve repented from and allow us bless others with our testimonies, but who wants to intentionally live life that way? Think about all Moses witnessed. He watched a whole generation over the age of 40 die in the wilderness because of their rebellion and unbelief. What a waste.

It may be tempting to look at the Children of Israel and say, “They committed a big sin but not trusting God and believing the report of the spies. I’m not bad.” But what about unforgiveness? Talk about a colossal waste of time. And pride? Spending day after day thinking you’re better than everyone else, when in truth you’re just as bad, if not worse? Waste. And what about all the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19? Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, fractions, envy, and drunkenness? Is that the way you want to spend your seventy, maybe eighty, years?

What are you wasting your days on? What sin is eating away minutes from your life clock? Ask the Lord to teach you to number your days so you can learn how to wisely spend your time. Life is too short.

Tea & Read: Not a Sparrow Falls

Title: Not a Sparrow Falls
Author: Linda Nichols
Rating: Spend the Day Sleepy

In this powerful story of redemption and love, a prodigal young woman from the hills of Virginia flees the men who had lured her away from a godly upbringing into a life of desperation. Taking on a new identity, Mary Bridget Washburn escapes to the quaint city of Alexandria, Virginia, where her path crosses that of a widowed minister with three young children and daunting problems of his own. Can Mary Bridget and her tainted past stay hidden long enough for her to bring hope to a family falling apart?

I discovered Linda Nichols a few years ago when I read At the Scent of Water. It was at a time that I was desperately seeking books from Christian authors I’d never read before. The book impressed me, but I hadn’t read anything else by Nichols. But she wasn’t far from my mind because Janice Lowery, First Lady of National Church of God, had discovered Nichols and fell in love with her books, too. Mama Janice and I had a few conversations about At the Scent of Water. I was really excited when she told me she’d let me borrow In Search of Eden. Mama Janice was the first person I thought of when I received my copy of Not a Sparrow Falls.

Now, I must admit, I’m a bit critical about the “Christian” message in books, mainly because it’s often heavy-handed. Most of the “conversions” are contrived and the characters have to twist into some awkward positions in order to see Jesus. In this book, however, the theme of redemption is woven in each scene. Each character discovers God’s redemptive power in their own way. Also, Nichols has a way with finding a scripture and creating a moving story around it. She beautifully illustrates the promise of Matthew 10:29.

The pacing was great, also. I only found myself skimming twice, mainly at the end of chapters because I was eager to know what happened next. Some parts of the plot seemed predictable when I began the book, like Samantha’s life as troubled teen and Jonah’s situation. Nichols, however, takes these time-honored roles and made them interesting enough to keep me turning the pages.

Most of all, I think I enjoyed the book because it touches on the topic of ministerial burn-out. It is something that happens in church often but no one really seems to offer any solutions. The book, even thought it’s a fictional account, shows a pretty realistic picture of how ministers get trapped in doing the Lord’s work but not hearing from Him. I found myself going from rooting for Alistair to turn things around to being angry that he couldn’t see how far he’d gone from what God intending.

More than once while reading this book, I had to force myself to stop reading in go to bed. Only a great book will make me do that. And of course, Mama Janice will be getting this book from me soon.

Monday Meditations: Words for Water

A few Sundays ago, I found myself watching something that I never expected: a news program on Nickleodeon. It was geared towards kids, but the subject matter was quiet moving. The program, hosted by Linda Ellerbee, focused on the clean water crisis in the world. After that program was over, I was very thankful for clean water, which is easy to take for granted. The stories featured there horrified me. Children in India, Ethiopia and Honduras drinking the same water they bathed in.

As I watched the story, the Lord reminded me of something I’d done years ago. I’d vowed to the Lord that once I get a publishing contract, a part of that money would go to providing clean drinking water in a place were there was none. I don’t really have a specific place in mind, but I knew that’s what I want to do.

I did this to give my writing a purpose. I don’t want to just tell meaning stories, but I want to impact the world. That vow can out of a time when I felt challenged by the Lord to live out my faith in a meaningful way. I asked Him what He wanted to do with these words bottled up inside me. And almost immediately, the answer came from an interesting place: a book.

At the time I was reading The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Sterns, the president of World Vision. My heart broke as I read stories of children dying of diseases they would have never caught if they only had clean drinking water. I felt like it wasn’t much, but I could make that vow to God, and continue to let Him direct my words.

That vow has helped me more than I ever imagined. It keeps me focused. When I want to give up, I remember that someone in the world is waiting for my help. Someone in the world will rejoice when they get clean drinking water. And the Nickleodeon program spurred me on a little more. My words for water. That is the purpose for my writing.