Scripture: Psalm 90
1 O Lord, you have always been our home.
2 Before you created the hills
or brought the world into being,
you were eternally God,
and will be God forever.
3 You tell us to return to what we were;
you change us back to dust.
4 A thousand years to you are like one day;
they are like yesterday, already gone,
like a short hour in the night.
5 You carry us away like a flood;
we last no longer than a dream.
We are like weeds that sprout in the morning,
6 that grow and burst into bloom,
then dry up and die in the evening.
7 We are destroyed by your anger;
we are terrified by your fury.
8 You place our sins before you,
our secret sins where you can see them.
9 Our life is cut short by your anger;
it fades away like a whisper.
10 Seventy years is all we have—
eighty years, if we are strong;
yet all they bring us is trouble and sorrow;
life is soon over, and we are gone.
11 Who has felt the full power of your anger?
Who knows what fear your fury can bring?
12 Teach us how short our life is,
so that we may become wise.
13 How much longer will your anger last?
Have pity, O Lord, on your servants!
14 Fill us each morning with your constant love,
so that we may sing and be glad all our life.
15 Give us now as much happiness as the sadness you gave us
during all our years of misery.
16 Let us, your servants, see your mighty deeds;
let our descendants see your glorious might.
17 Lord our God, may your blessings be with us.
Give us success in all we do!
Observation:
The author of Psalm 90 is reflective of our short lives in comparison to our Eternal God. He writes: “O Lord, you have always been our home. Before you created the hills or brought the world into being, you were eternally God, and will be God forever. You tell us to return to what we were; you change us back to dust.” (Psalm 90:1-3) The psalmists realizes that we are God’s workmanship and our lives are like “…weeds that sprout in the morning, that grow and burst into bloom, then dry up and die in the evening.) (Psalm 90:5b-6)
Application:
Since God is already our eternal home as the psalmist reveals, we should align ourselves and our thinking with our God who created us for an eternal relationship with God’s Self. We make plans, but God is Forever God and his will for our lives is always best. Why not live our lives in the shelter of God’s wings and allow God’s eternal word to shape our lives and light our paths. Then, we will rest in his love and care.
Prayer:
O Lord people make plans, but you know the plans you have made for us. Plans to prosper us and give us a hope and a future. No matter how long we live our mortal lives, be it 70, 80, 90 years or more, our true home is in our eternal relationship with you. Grant that our children and their children and all our descendants might know and appreciate your eternal love and care, for you are our true home. Amen!