Psalm 39:4-7
Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath.”
We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it.
And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
My only hope is in you.
Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent are drawing near. It is good for us to pause and ponder how we are going to observe a holy Lent this year. Put another way, it is good to consider how God is calling us to grow during this particular season of our lives.
I was deeply moved by these verses from Psalm 39 when I read them the other morning. How sobering to be reminded of the limited number of days we have to live on earth, that our lives will eventually come to an end. This Psalm reminds me of the words that are said as the ashes are imposed on our foreheads during the Ash Wednesday liturgy: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Yes, even though it may seem negative and morbid, I believe pondering the reality of our deaths is a good Lenten practice. How might we begin to live if we knew we only had 40 days to live? What would you do? How would you spend your time? Who would you see? How would you make your last 40 days on earth count? These are good Lenten questions which give us a sense of urgency. As we ponder and pray about them we can begin to answer these profound questions by the way we live, by embracing new resurrection life.