A Mere Breath
Posted by pastor on February 17, 2010
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! -Psalm 39:4-5 (ESV)
I forget sometimes (okay, I forget everyday) that this is the reality of my posture before God. It’s so easy to act like I’m much more important than I really am, but that’s nothing more than idolatry.
As I ran across this prayer in my reading today, it struck me that I never pray anything like that. I never ask God to show me how insignificant I am, or to give me a glimpse of my brevity. I usually ask for things that I think will make me happy, and they certainly don’t focus on how “fleeting” I am.
But I think that this Psalm is here to correct just that misunderstanding of what will make me happy. ”Good things” that we pray for aren’t always what is best for us; sometimes what’s best for me is to be knocked off of my pedestal, stop thinking about me, and start thinking about the greatness and majesty of God. When God is great, I am insignificant. When God is glorified, I am brought low. When God is made much of, I am not made much of.
I pray that God does show me how fleeting I am, and in contrast, how eternally glorious He is.
