By Mike Oppenheimer
Let Us Reason Minisries
Do you know how much time you have on earth? None of us do. There are no guarantees even for the healthy.
Do you know how your time is being used? You can get an estimate by calculating how long you sleep and work.
From the beginning, after the fall, man was able to live to his 900 plus years (Gen.5). As time went on, lifetimes diminished in years to one hundred thirty, spanning one hundred fifty years as common. King David wrote in the Bible of the time settled for man by God—he speaks of us having 70 years, possibly 80 years to live our life.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Ps. 90:10-12
The fear of the Lord is an important component, not a fear that would have us cringe but rather would give us a healthy respect for our Maker and Overseer of our lives.
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10
God knows our conception (Ps.139:16), our birth, and our departure from Earth by death. As Job wrote when he spoke of man:
Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. Job 14:5
James said:
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. James 4:14-15
Job understood as he went through his physical ailment: “O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good” (Job 7:7).
Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Ps. 39:4-5
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14
We have all watched vapors appear and then vanish; this is what God is conveying our lives are like. But no matter how short a human life is, it can still be significant.
We live 27,375 days for our approximately 75 years on earth, or 29,200 days for 80 years. With 24 hours in a day, we spend one third of our life (8 hours) sleeping, another third (8 hours) working. If you sleep eight hours a day, you sleep 2, 920 hours a year; this amounts to over 25 years of our lifetime in sleeping (to replenish our vitality from working each day). That is 73,000 hours in a 75-year lifetime.
After working eight hours a day, sleeping eight hours a day, we then have eight hours left. That is one third of our lives left to do something besides sleep and work. This leaves us 25 years (73,000 hours) to do something significant, something that will affect people for the good now and last beyond our time on Earth.
In reality, we have a very short time, as Job noted, “. . . because our days upon earth are a shadow” (Job 8:9).
Paul, the apostle, writes:
. . . as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27
Our lives are not over after we leave Earth; it is determined by God, who is perfectly just in His judgment. All things will be judged.
Let us not waste our “free” time but rather use it wisely.
We are currently facing unusual circumstances, possibly once-in-a-lifetime challenges that were predicted thousands of years ago by the One who cares for us all. It is at this time our light should shine, and we, as believers, should not let the darkness overcome us. We are watching the birth pains escalate. Matthew 24:8 says all these are “the beginning of sorrows.”
Let us try to be a help to someone when we can; let us think about others as we face these difficult days. May we live our lives as God asks us to in His Word.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Ps. 27:1
(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
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