How many of us have ever asked ourselves this question which is asked in the Scriptures? And the answer follows, which may not be what some of us care to hear. No mortal man or woman can guarantee his or her own life. The Scripture makes it clear, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:13,14). God Almighty, who created us, is saying we are “a mist that appears for a little time and vanishes.”
It has been said that death and taxes are the only two things that are certain in life. Death is certain for sure. Taxes is another matter all together. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven; a time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,2). This means tomorrow is not guaranteed. And as James continues to state, “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). As creatures of time and space, no one knows exactly what the future holds. But we do know the future belongs entirely to God.
Rick Warren writes. “Life on earth is a temporary assignment. The Bible is full of metaphors that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths. First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. This is not your permanent home or final destination. You are just passing through, just visiting earth” (The Purpose Driven Life, p. 47 Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530). Note, as Pastor Warren points out, “life is extremely brief” and “earth is only a temporary residence.”
King David, “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts13:22), was fully aware of the brevity of life, and he prayed, “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! (Psalm 39:4-6). In this prayer, David seems to be reflecting on the ‘frailty of man’. And then he says to God, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (Psalm 39:7). Hope in God is the key to live a truely godly lifestyle.
Moses, ‘the man of God’, prayed, “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning . . . in the evening it fades and withers.” (Psalm 90:4-6). Then Moses seems to set forth the lifespan of the average person in this present day and age when he included in his prayer that “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). And then, Moses asks God “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Both David and Moses got it absolutely right as both men fully recognized and understood the brevity of life. And the fact that God is eternal and man is a mortal being. The Lord Jesus Christ is the object of the believer’s faith for righteousness. Therefore, our endeavor should be to make the Lord Jesus Christ the very center of our earthly life. The apostle Paul was very passionate about his love and commitment to the Lord, hence he could declare, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). This is accomplished by allowing the Lord Jesus to live His holy, sinless life in and through us as believers just ‘passing through’ an increasingly ungodly world.
Here is a saying that is worth considering. “Yesterday is a cancelled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have – so spend it wisely.” — Kay Lyons Stockham. This seems to be telling us that yesterday is past and gone forever, while tomorrow is at best uncertain, but only today gives us the opportunity to think and act wisely. Some food for thought here.
Why not let God be God of your life? The Scriptures teach that God is the “Devine Potter”and we are the “clay” in His hand. “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). Therefore, allow God to break, melt, mold, fill, and use you for His honor and glory. And “that in everything thing He might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18). May God grant it for His name’s sake.