August 14, 2023

Psalm 39: 4 “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” (NIV)

In God’s plan every life is long enough and every death is timely.*

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you knew you only had a few days left to live? Perhaps you picture yourself desperately trying to wring the maximum amount of pleasure out of the life you have left. Maybe you imagine that you would seek to make amends for the wrongs you’ve committed against others. Hopefully, you would spend time contemplating your relationship with the Lord.

While I have never asked God to show me my life’s end as David does in this Psalm, I have recently received first-hand experience in the fleeting nature of life. My husband was diagnosed with inoperable, incurable pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and a second round of chemo bought him a year more than the one year the doctors had predicted.

What my husband and I found during this time is what I believe David was asking for in this passage: perspective. Armed with the knowledge of just how short life on earth is, we become more aware of what is really important. What is lasting. We spent as much time as possible with our family. We got our affairs in order, trying to prepare me for life on my own. But most of all, my husband determined that he would magnify God as he faced his last days on earth and looked forward to the eternity he had been living for.

Life is short. Prepare for eternity and at least it won’t be a meaningless life, no matter the number of days.

Give God your death. Imagine your last breath; envision your final minutes, and offer them to him.*