O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. 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! And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:4–7
Sovereign Father, though I have no desire to know the exact day or means by which you will take me home, I’m more committed to live with that Day in view.
Because the gospel is true, I’m no longer afraid of death. To be absent from my body is to be present with you. The sting of my death has been removed. The grave has been robbed of its victory over me and my body. I can honestly say with Paul that it is “better by far to depart and be with the Lord” (Phil. 1:23).
But until that departure, how do you want me to invest the rest of my days? I’ve spent enough years bustling about in vanity, heaping up stuff that will only end up on the ash heap one day. Should you give me one more, ten more, twenty-five more years, how can the gospel of your kingdom and the riches of your grace claim and fill the span of those very brief years?
What do I need to make a bigger deal about—and a lesser deal of? What things do I simply need to let go of? Who should I be spending more time with or, quite honestly, less time?
The two things which define the rest of history are your commitment to redeem your people through the gospel and your commitment to make all things new through Jesus. How do you want me to engage with both of those stories with my friends and church? So very Amen, I pray in Jesus’ merciful and magnificent name.