I’m pretty good at holding my tongue. But sometimes even as I’m telling myself, don’t say it, don’t say it, the words burst out on their own. After a few minutes I realize, I shouldn’t have said it.

David failed at similar efforts. He said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.

Instead of those around him, however, David’s discontent targeted the Lord. He wrote, “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

As David moved through the challenges of life, he burned at the brevity of his existence. In his distress he described his life as a few handbreadths, like nothing, and a shadow. David compared the Lord to an army of moths eating holes through his closet of achievements. Life is a whisper.

David questioned the measure of his days and the value of his existence. But even from his dark places he returned to the light. In his anguish he never let go of the Lord: And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

Life is indeed short. The years go faster than ever, and on dark days I lean towards despair. But hope does exist. In one person. Wait for the Lord. Be strong, take heart, and wait for the Lord. And since life is brief, we’ll see him soon enough.

Psalm 39

Photo by Dominik Francis