Psalm 39.4-6 (NLV)
“O Lord, let me know my end and how many days I have to live. Let me know that I do not have long to stay here. You have made each of my days as long as a hand is wide. My whole life is nothing in Your eyes. Every man at his best is only a breath. Every man walks here and there like a shadow. He makes a noise about nothing. He stores up riches, not knowing who will gather them.
If you have ever spent spring time or summer in Colorado you know it can be a wonderful time of year. It is beautiful when we start to unthaw from the crazy cold winter and the sun starts to finally warm our chilly mornings. As blissful as this may sound this time of year also brings road construction…. Grr!!! This year the season has extended my 40 minute commute by at least 15 minutes. If you know what I am talking about you also know that it seems like those road crews have little worry about our schedules and don’t seem to move near quick enough when we are in a hurry! So, the other day I was going along enjoying one of those blissful mornings I was talking about when I approached the dreadful orange construction signs… slow down, roadwork ahead, reduce speeds, expect delays!! Really?!? You’re kidding right? I’m already running late, I have things to do, I have to get to work, my list of to-do’s is a mile long! I don’t have time for this.
As I sat in traffic I started to think about those signs and that maybe God put those in place for a reason on that very day. Slow down… reduce speeds. I think those signs are more about my current state of mind than the physical location of my car. I started to think about this week and realized that this is how I live most of my life. I am in a constant state of getting things done and I often miss out on the small joys in life because I am worried about the next “assignment.” While Psalms 39 might make some of us more anxious about the need to complete tasks because it talks about how limited our days are it did much the opposite for me. It reminds me that my life is so very short and instead of being so busy I need to stop, press pause. Slow down…
So, if I know that I have a tendency to pack my life full of obligations why is it so hard for me to slow down? Why can’t I just enjoy the scenery? Why is this so hard for me to get? Is anyone else with me on this? I would like to slow down and be ok with delays but before I know it my life is once again back up to speeds only seen in nascar.
Lord,
I don’t know why I can’t seem to slow my life down. Please help me to stop and enjoy the time you have given me rather than working my life away. You tell me that my life is, at best, only a breath and I do not have long to stay here. Please fill my schedule with what is important, not what "needs" to be done. In Jesus name, amen!
“O Lord, let me know my end and how many days I have to live. Let me know that I do not have long to stay here. You have made each of my days as long as a hand is wide. My whole life is nothing in Your eyes. Every man at his best is only a breath. Every man walks here and there like a shadow. He makes a noise about nothing. He stores up riches, not knowing who will gather them.
If you have ever spent spring time or summer in Colorado you know it can be a wonderful time of year. It is beautiful when we start to unthaw from the crazy cold winter and the sun starts to finally warm our chilly mornings. As blissful as this may sound this time of year also brings road construction…. Grr!!! This year the season has extended my 40 minute commute by at least 15 minutes. If you know what I am talking about you also know that it seems like those road crews have little worry about our schedules and don’t seem to move near quick enough when we are in a hurry! So, the other day I was going along enjoying one of those blissful mornings I was talking about when I approached the dreadful orange construction signs… slow down, roadwork ahead, reduce speeds, expect delays!! Really?!? You’re kidding right? I’m already running late, I have things to do, I have to get to work, my list of to-do’s is a mile long! I don’t have time for this.
As I sat in traffic I started to think about those signs and that maybe God put those in place for a reason on that very day. Slow down… reduce speeds. I think those signs are more about my current state of mind than the physical location of my car. I started to think about this week and realized that this is how I live most of my life. I am in a constant state of getting things done and I often miss out on the small joys in life because I am worried about the next “assignment.” While Psalms 39 might make some of us more anxious about the need to complete tasks because it talks about how limited our days are it did much the opposite for me. It reminds me that my life is so very short and instead of being so busy I need to stop, press pause. Slow down…
So, if I know that I have a tendency to pack my life full of obligations why is it so hard for me to slow down? Why can’t I just enjoy the scenery? Why is this so hard for me to get? Is anyone else with me on this? I would like to slow down and be ok with delays but before I know it my life is once again back up to speeds only seen in nascar.
Lord,
I don’t know why I can’t seem to slow my life down. Please help me to stop and enjoy the time you have given me rather than working my life away. You tell me that my life is, at best, only a breath and I do not have long to stay here. Please fill my schedule with what is important, not what "needs" to be done. In Jesus name, amen!
"Slow down. Take a deep breath. What's the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway? But you say, 'I can't help it. I'm addicted to alien gods. I can't quit.' Just as a thief is chagrined, but only when caught, so the people of Israel are chagrined, Caught along with their kings and princes, their priests and prophets "(Jer. 2:25-26, Message).