By: Brother Guy Ames
I was a young preacher when I received a small book to assist with funerals. Looking through many of the scriptures included, I eventually latched onto several that I used frequently such as, John 14 “in my house are many mansions…” Psalm 23, and then a paraphrase of Psalm 90. Having officiated at more than 1500 funerals and most of those with people who died later in life, I found the words of this Psalm to be particularly meaningful at those times to bring a particular perspective, not only on death but more importantly, on life.
Attributed to Moses in his last years, this psalm surely written by one later in life bears the wisdom of one who has the perspective of looking back on a long life. In our young years we look at life as likely to lead to “living happily ever after”, only to later discover that difficulties come to all of us. So the psalmist writes:
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
God’s presence, seen through his creation since time began, has shown evidence of God’s reality, as Paul writes in Romans 1. So, he says, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Yet even in light of eternity, life moves so very quickly. We are constantly surprised as we and our children grow older. This year I turn 75 and stand amazed at how quickly those years seem to have passed. My oldest son has reached the age where soon he will begin considering AARP. Then the psalmist reminds us how short and difficult life can be.
3You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
Living most of my life on the Oklahoma plains we witnessed the reality of this picture every summer. As August heat boiled our world, we would awaken to mornings feeling a bit cooler and the dew laying gently on the lawn. By that same evening the grass looked dry and brown. From green to brown in a few hours; so, for those of us who have years added to our lives we like to say, “where has all the time gone?” Einstein’s Theory of Relativity not only applies to the speed of light but also the speed of life. As we look back on our lives, it is so easy to think, “if only I could relive that moment.” One Dennis the Menace cartoon shows 5-year-old Dennis talking to his 3-year-old friend, Joey saying, “if only I were three again, knowing what I know now at 5.” We laugh but know the truth this holds. How differently we would have acted if only we had that life experience before stepping into those moments.
9bAll our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
We witness only a few who move through life without serious challenges. Most of us, never expect difficulties but then they come and often with the question, “why me” only to recognize that our troubles are not unique, whether self-inflicted or those unwanted random challenges. Life’s challenges eventually come to us all and the truth is, we will all die. The question for each of us is “what are we doing with the days we have been given?” These are the sentiments of the Preacher of Ecclesiastes. If life has difficulties, how can we still enjoy life? By applying our hearts to wisdom and by living as the loved people of God. No matter how long our lives, each of us have the choice as to how we want to live.
Our lives are moving at light speed; we finish each day and wonder where that time has flown. The days will come when we can no longer say to ourselves, “I still have time to correct that or do that or learn that.” Those with wisdom take time to stop, remember, reflect and review life before God and ask the important question, “How am I doing?” “How is my soul? How are my relationships? Have I forgiven those who have wounded me? How much more time do I have to apply God’s wisdom?”
John Wesley wrote every day in his journal and over his many years of ministry reflected on seasons of his past to learn and apply those lessons to his present. Some of the wisest people I have known take time to learn from mistakes, hardships, and failures, while at the same time not lingering over those days. As people who stand on the promise, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” Standing on that promise we can trust a God who by his grace never wastes anything but enables us to use the lessons of the day for his purpose. So the psalmist concludes by calling us to what is most important, living in the light of God’s love:
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
