Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Philippians 2:7 “He became like one of us.” (Contemporary English Version)

Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary to China, left England on September 19, 1853 and arrived in Shanghai, China on March 1, 1954. Do the math. It took five months to make the trip. Today, we can get to the moon faster than that. Taylor’s passion to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the little known Chinese people drove him to go where others had never gone and do what others had never done. 

When Taylor died 51 years later, he had brought into China over 800 missionaries, established 20 mission stations, trained over 700 Chinese leaders, raised more than four million dollars, raised up a church of 125,000, and personally baptized at least 50,000. This happened in 19th century conditions when things moved at a turtle’s pace. 

What was Hudson Taylor’s secret? 

He became like them. 

Taylor didn’t love or establish or preach the gospel to the Chinese as a wise Westerner. He did something unheard of in his time. He clothed himself in Chinese dress, wore his hair like a national, and, for all practical purposes, became Chinese. He became one of them. 

And they believed. By the thousands, they believed. 

Today, Christians in China are forced to worship underground, yet they’re the largest church on the planet! Some estimate there could be 200 million Christians there. Two hundred million! The Christian population in China could equal two-thirds of the total population of the United States!

Hudson Taylor discovered a secret. He became Chinese so they could comprehend Jesus. Taylor didn’t come up with the ingenious plan. It was God’s idea in the first place. God became like one of us and today we call that occasion Christmas.

Every now and then I have a hard time wrapping my mind around God’s bigness. Sometimes I’m too zapped from the battle of life to grasp how enormous He is. When I’m worn out, it’s tough to be a God-thinker. I know, God’s sheer size should comfort me, but sometimes it simply overwhelms me. Kind of like Bill Gates trying to explain his net worth to me. I don’t get.

To help wimpy people like me God did the unheard of. He became like me. 

Think of it. Like me. Like you. Us! 

Animals. Mangers. A starry night. Sheep. Farmers (“Shepherds”). A baby. A pregnant woman. Guests showing up to see the newest addition to the family. These I understand. 

He became like one of us. 

God knew we could never comprehend His vastness, so He showed us how much he loved us and wanted to be near us by coming to us in our littleness. Even when I’m weary, I understand. I get it. 

Some say they’ll only believe when they see how big God is. God’s plan, however, was to save us by becoming like us, yet without sin. The Savior of the world, God, became little on purpose because even I can understand a baby’s love.

When Hudson Taylor became Chinese, the Chinese believed. 


When God became a baby, I believed. 

And of all the truths in Scripture, this one, for me, is a really BIG deal.

Merry Christmas!

He Deserves All

Some things can only be expressed as a song. I think my son, Josh, does it as good as anyone I know.

In a world when things change over night and uncertainty is certain, don't you need something, Someone, who is constant?

Really, He deserves it ALL.

Another Presence will come as you listen.

Enjoy my son.

But especially, enjoy the One who deserves it all.

Thirsty Souls

Psalm 42: 1-3  As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?"


Sometimes I read the heart breathings of another and wish it was me. This is case with this Psalm. Here is a person whose circumstance of life has driven him to the only true source of life itself…The Presence of God.

As he writes we discover that he's crying out from the taunting of an enemy and crushing circumstances that overwhelm him. Depression threatens to drape blackness over him like a cloudy night. Worse, there’s no evidence of his God anywhere to be found. People around him who appear prosperous from serving other gods mock him asking “Where is YOUR God?”  From this place of despair he gets a revelation of the parched condition of his own soul. Then, and only then, does he cry “My soul pants for YOU, O God!”

A thirsty soul is a precious possession. However, the same soul is so easily deceived in finding refreshment from the stagnant waters of another well. The soul that finds its appetite satisfied with everything but the presence of God eventually becomes a decrepit thing. Our most cherished moments are when we discover that after drinking the dregs of this world’s joys, we are still empty, so we determine to once again set our quest to meet with God.

Recently I visited the modern mansion of a wealthy entrepreneur. The finely laid brick driveway circled by the front door of the huge house. I’d never seen doors eight feet tall until now. “Imagine,” I thought, “doors as tall as the ceilings of most homes.” As I walked through the magnanimous house I sensed an eerie barrenness. Hollow echoes followed my footsteps down mahogany hallways between rooms. Big lavish furniture looked like show pieces, while large pictures reminded me of visits to the museum. I felt like I was standing among millions of dollars worth of emptiness.

This is why the Psalmist was not interested in just any water to quench his thirst. It had to be flowing streams. Recognizing there were other sources from which to drink he determined that this time nothing less than the living God could gratify these deep desires. Some people would be satisfied to commune with God among nature, and indeed you can sense his majesty in his creation. But this man wanted more. The enchanting beauty of God’s creation could not quench the thirst of his crusty soul. His quest was to appear before God, himself!

To the average person these words are just “words”—proper religious jargon. But to those who know; to those who have lived in the precious state of thirst for heavenly realms, this is the most valued place this side of eternity.

Oh, to be thirsty! Even desperate!

Oh, to be at a place that transcends religious routine!

Indeed, the quest for his presence is almost as satisfying as the Presence himself!

Make us thirsty, O God!

We Broke the Huddle: New Church Plant

Break The Huddle

At the beginning of the year I started thinking about how the first church did church, and how differently I and most other American Christians do church. So, in January I asked the Holy Spirit to take away the grid I unconsciously use when reading the Bible and I began re-reading the New Testament Gospels. I discovered two specifics about the early church.

First, Jesus never told his disciples to gather in a building and wait for people to come to their doorsteps. Sure, it can be assumed that they came together, sang hymns and listened to teaching, but that was a prelude for what was to come. It seems that the next thing Jesus taught them to do was the real purpose of their existence on the planet.

Today, the western church reasons that if we have great worship music, exceptional preaching, the latest techno-gadgets and a cool venue, people who don’t know the Lord will just mysteriously show up. While these may or may not draw a large crowd, most of the people who turn up at our church already know Christ. Most times they keep coming because they think the way we do church is cooler and better than the way the last church they attended does church. Therefore, churches trade Christians and the church that’s having the biggest draw at the time fools itself into thinking that the Kingdom is advancing when in fact we’re just swapping people. It’s not that this is wrong, and it’s certainly not sinful, but it’s not what the Bible reflects. At least, not the way I read it.

The second thing that struck me was Jesus’ calculated command to “Go.”

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Gathering together with other believers is important. Meeting together is the means by which we stir up one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). But meeting together is no more the grand purpose of the church than a football team’s huddle is to the game. Like the football team, the purpose is to eventually break the huddle and move forward into enemy territory!

God’s church will never be complete, and dare I say we may have even become a bit dysfunctional, because all we’ve majored on is to try to make our huddle the best huddle in town. For the most part, this is a description of the American church—and it’s wrong—it’s dead wrong!

Jesus last words on earth before he ascended were, “Go…make disciples of all nations…be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The word that pierces my heart is “Go.” Jesus was deliberate and intentional. Convenience was not a consideration. “Go” challenges my personality, my schedule and my comfort. And for me it’s very uncomfortable.

There are people in my town who know nothing of the love of God. Why? Because I, like many others, have stayed in my huddle. Now, you must know that I love my huddle! My huddle has wonderful people, great worship music and some of the best leaders in the region. I think we have one of the most unique huddles in our city. You can’t come into my huddle without being blessed! However, the blessing and problem are juxtaposed against one another, and herein lies the issue. While the huddle is necessary, it’s incomplete if we don’t break out of it. People don’t pay thirty-five dollars a ticket to see a pro football team huddle. A football team will get penalized if it stays in the huddle too long! If all they do is huddle the game’s not being played. The fans come to see their team move the ball into the opposing team’s territory and score!

A few months ago it dawned on me that I had barely spoken to my next door neighbor who now lives alone since his mother died. Never married, he stays home alone all day. The only regular visit he ever received was the ambulance driver that came regularly to pick up his mother and take her to the hospital. He had had no visitors since she died. Is he aware of how much God loves him? Does he ever talk to God? Had he ever attended a church service? I didn’t know.

Imagine, a church has paid airfare for me to fly to their city to speak, but I wouldn’t cross the street and go to my neighbor. I didn’t even know his name, much less his relationship with the Lord! After re-reading Jesus’ words in the Bible I was convicted that we have to find ways to serve people outside our circle with a heavenly purpose in mind. The only thing it will cost is personal convenience and obedience, and maybe a walk across the street, which, by the way, I did and continue to do.

I suppose that most churches, including mine, has worked to become the best and biggest huddle in town, while Jesus awaits us breaking our huddle (in whatever state we find it) to go to people who need to know that there is a God Who loves them unconditionally. Jesus added, “Start in Jerusalem” [your hometown].

So what did I learn from re-reading the Gospels? When the Lord looks at my city I don’t think He sees the size or technology or style of our individual huddles. He sees His Church, His Kingdom people, and He’s waiting for us to break from our routine, walk across the street and serve someone who has yet to hear the Gospel, that God loves them…just like they are.

It Is Time

“At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord” – Genesis 4:26


Years ago in a partially finished room of the musty old basement of our home, I created a place where I could get away and study. One Saturday evening I pulled away to my moldy retreat being overwhelmed with the burden to pray. The church I was leading was faced with overwhelming circumstances and desperately needed God’s intervention. I knew that in myself I could not produce what they needed, but I knew Who could. I was at the end of myself and sermons were no longer producing the fruit we needed. I (we) needed more. At that time, I prostrated myself on the cold, damp concrete floor and called on the name of the Lord.

What drives people to a life of prayer? Usually, when life spirals out of control and the need(s) at hand is bigger than our ability to meet it, we pray. When we can’t manage our circumstances and life is filled with more battle than beauty, we seek the aid of God. Someone has correctly asserted, “There are no atheists on the battlefield.” So true!

The Genesis 4 account marks the first time people began to pray and seek the God of heaven. The question on the table is: What drove them there? What marked that time as opposed to other times when they did not feel the need to call upon the Lord? Genesis 4 recounts the rise of jealousy, hatred and bitterness taking over the human race. The fruit of Adam and Eve’s sin is evident as men took justice into their own hands and began murdering their fellow man. There was a flood of anger among men. Sin was introduced in Genesis 3 and the fruits of it came to bear in Genesis 4. Reaping the fruit of their own sin, men were pressed to call on the name of the Lord. That time was a hard time.

“What,” I ask myself, “will cause Christians to call on the name of the Lord today? When will the prayer meeting (which sounds so old school and archaic, and rarely exists in the American church today) be filled with people passionately seeking God’s heart? When will calling on the name of the Lord be as important as listening to the sermons of men?” History records how fervent prayer preceded a fervent church. Most Christians today know little to nothing of this precedent, and the lack of prayer reveals it. Likewise, the straying condition of this nation, I believe, is the fruit of a prayerless church.

However, when the world gets out of control, similar to that described in Genesis 4, it can serve to propel people to call on the name of the Lord. At that time, the most difficult time known to humanity, according to the Genesis account, men called on God. In difficulty, prayer becomes the norm and intercession is no longer limited to people we consider weird, deep, or serious believers. It becomes the way of life for all true believers.

Yesterday, I received an email from a Ugandan pastor and he reflected on the prayer life of his congregation. I was convicted to my bones! Maybe, you will be too. He writes:

We fast and pray as many times as we need to. We have a prayer group that has prayer and fasting three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This is routine for us. Sometimes we do more, like this week, the whole church will fast and pray from Wednesday to Saturday, except for the ministers who will have a dry fast * for three days. So the ministers will fast for five days. For us prayer and fasting is as real as eating food.

*Note: A dry fast means no water or food for three days!

America is ripe for ruin. This is no longer the cry of Bible thumping preachers; it is common journalism reported from our government agencies. Likewise, while the crowds attending mega churches rival the population of small cities, the collective righteousness in the church-at-large is not potent enough to influence a single city in our nation. Gratefully, there are a few, albeit very few, exceptions to this. In our culture, evil is good and good is evil. On our watch the nation perishes.

I know. It’s an acidic message that sets our teeth on edge. With rolled eyes I hear someone declare “Another Doomsday-er!” But not so fast! Allow me to offer an additional note that will hopefully bring a harmonic tone to an otherwise sour sound. We’re also poised for revival. History has recorded that the most spectacular life is birthed from a grave rather than a nursery. While there are numerous Biblical and modern examples, Jesus Christ stands as our most perfect model. At the most unlikely time, under the most dismal circumstances, the stone rolled away. And so it can be at this time, if, and this is THE condition, people begin to call upon the name of the Lord. The moving of God upon His church or a nation is always preceded, and this without variance, by a praying people.

As it was in Joseph’s day, all that is meant for evil can arise for our good, pressing us to press into Him. It is time to be a people of prayer.

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Isaiah 6:1-3
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"

I was only seven years old and the memory of that day remains fixed in my mind. For a reason that I can’t remember now, I didn’t go to school that day. I can still see the afternoon sunrays shooting through the window reflecting on tiny lint particles flying around in the air, as Mom ironed clothes while watching The Guiding Light. Suddenly, our regular seven ‘o clock guest showed up early and interrupted Mom’s “stories,” as she called them.

The grandfatherly like gentleman who visited every evening via a worn out black and white Phillips television, Walter Cronkite, who bored me stiff but daily captured the attention of my parents with his evening news, interrupted Mom’s soaps. “There has been an attempt, as you may know, on the life of President Kennedy.”

Mom froze. “Oh, my God!”

Minutes later, he added: “From Dallas, Texas the news is apparently official, President Kennedy died at One PM, Central Standard Time.”

It didn’t mean a lot to me…until I saw Mom cry. Then, the always composed Cronkite took off his black horn-rimmed glasses and right there in front of me and the world, he cried. Off and on, throughout the evening, Mom wept. The next day at school Mrs. Crumpler, my second grade teacher, cried in front of all us kids. I admit, at first I wasn’t bothered that a president had been shot dead until I saw how it troubled everyone else. Especially grown ups. It seemed like all of America wept when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Kids like me couldn’t comprehend the gravity of the times. But we remember.

This is the kind of historical landmark Isaiah recalls when he talks about the events that surround the time God changed his life. The Lord moved on the heart of Isaiah “in the year that King Uzziah died.” That was the year that all Israel cried, and it’s possible these days pressed Isaiah to seek the Lord more seriously. Maybe God moved on Isaiah’s heart because he died.

For fifty-two years Israel prospered in every way under the leadership of Uzziah. Military, agricultural, and economic advancements skyrocketed. Families were happy. The nation was at peace. The king was popular. And then, he died. Much like America in the 60’s after President Kennedy died, the attitude of Israel went south because they saw, what seemed to them as, the end.

But it wasn’t.

Not for Isaiah. Not for Israel.

The nation became distressed because, for the first time in half a century, their throne was empty. The king they had come to trust and revere no longer occupied their seat of authority. Israel’s condition drove Isaiah to prayer and it was here that he saw what others did not see. He saw a throne that was elevated with greater authority than the one that was unoccupied in Israel. And this one was not vacant because the Lord was seated on this throne!

From Isaiah’s perspective, heaven was not stressed in the least over King Uzziah’s death. Heavenly beings took flight, singing as they circled the throne, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Don’t miss what they saw. At a time of unprecedented darkness, they saw “the whole earth…full of his glory!”

No mention of a potential downturn in Israel’s economy now that the king died. Not one word of fear over their military weakening if the right man doesn’t replace Uzziah. From heaven’s perspective the glory of God was filling the earth at the most unlikely time.

Our perspective? We’re crying. Politicians, some say, are ruining the nation. Gas prices rising. Terrorists threaten. Jobs are scarce. Economy plummeting. Middle class vanishing.

Even if it’s all true, I want to encourage you that there’s more you don’t see. It’s impossible to see it through the lens of CNN, and dare I say, even FOX. But like Isaiah, you can allow what’s happening here to inspire you to a better view from there. When everything in Israel went south, Isaiah headed north—toward the heavens. He sought the Lord. In his seeking he found God occupying the greatest seat of authority over all the earth. In Isaiah’s quest, he heard heavenly beings declare that God’s glory was covering the earth, quite the opposite of what he experienced only hours before.

Forty-eight years have passed since Mom and I heard Walter Cronkite announce Kennedy’s death that, along with the Vietnam War, gave birth to the rebellious 60’s. Unknown to us, simultaneous with our nation spinning out of control, the Lord was launching an age of glory that would soon spread across the world.

During the exact same era, an Episcopalian priest, Dennis Bennett, announced to his affluent congregation in Van Nuys, California that he had seen the Lord in a way that was highly unusual for mainline Christians in America. Bennett told his congregation he had experienced a baptism with the Holy Spirit that changed his life. Throughout the next decade as LIFE magazine plastered their covers with scenes of war, drugs, and death, people who were hungry to see more than this experienced the glory of God.

No doubt about it, these days look dark if you’re looking through a lens that only reports a horizontal point of view. It’s not wrong to acknowledge there’s darkness here as long as it drives us to see God’s glory there. There is another outlook—another perspective. While our crazy world gyrates out of control, there are “Dennis Bennett’s” who are seeing the Lord. It’s through them that the glory of God will be revealed to the world.

As Charles Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities, these are “the best of times and the worst of times.” As for me, I see the Lord.

Who Is Your Refuge?

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah – Psalm 46:1-3


I suppose every era goes through a time of such calamity that the end of the age seems apparent. Once again, we are living in such a time. While our situation is comparable to previous generations, it’s also possible there’s never been a more volatile time known to man, at least in the modern age. Nothing seems sure anymore. The inventions men designed to make life good and pleasurable have either crumbled or threaten to. Still worse, the unusual number of natural disasters abounding on all continents incites the question, Who’s next?

“The earth gives way…the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea…its waters roar and foam…the mountains tremble at its swelling.” When I read theses words my mind races to the recent catastrophes that seem to be never ending. My point, however, is not to interject more fear than is already being amply promoted. It’s easy to report the obvious, but I wish to state the unobvious that’s more sure and unshakable. “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28, NIV).

God is called a “refuge.” In ancient Israel, the Lord instructed his people to build Cities of Refuge, safe havens for people who were accused of a crime, particularly manslaughter or murder. When there was no where else for them to turn, these cities would provide shelter and protection until they were given justice from their accusers. Likewise, the Lord is a safe place, a place of shelter when our lives are threatened by uncontrollable circumstances.

Notice, the Psalmist says God is a refuge “in trouble.” The Hebrew word for “trouble” means a tight place or a place without options. If your homeland becomes unsafe you can run to another city, region, or country. But when “the earth gives way,” where can you go? You can’t fly to Mars! You’re left without options with no where else to run to. It’s in this context that God says, “I’ll be your refuge; you can lean upon me and find rest for your soul; I’ll shelter you and will not turn you away.”

The “trouble” it speaks of is not distinguished. Whether it is trouble of your own making or a tight place you were forced into from adversity beyond your control, the compassion of God goes out to anyone “in trouble.” No one is disqualified from God’s refuge.

So how does this refuge become real to us? God as refuge becomes more than theory when we get to know him at the place of prayer and worship. This is where we experience the “very present” presence of God. The person who has met God in the intimate place of prayer and worship looks foolish to the common man. Anxiety fills the worrier, while peace dominates the worshiper. People who don’t share your refuge will say you’re in denial while they scurry to keep their world in tact. I’m not advocating irresponsibility, but when you’ve done what you can and have been forced into a tight place without options, the man or woman whose refuge is the Lord will not fall apart when everything and everyone else around does.

Who is your refuge? Some people choose drugs and alcohol as their refuge, while others retreat to food, money, or sex. You may find a solace in your abilities, business, or the people you’re closest to.

Your refuge is whatever or whomever you turn to first when your world gets out of control.

Notice, the question is not “Who is your Savior?” You can pray a “sinner’s prayer” and claim Jesus as your Savior from eternal hell and continue living in a literal hell on earth because you’ve never followed him to the intimate place of prayer and worship. Receiving Jesus is not the escape of eternal hell, but the entrance of eternal life…now. When circumstances bring trouble, those who have made God their refuge live in peace.

In one of her well known gospel songs, the late Dottie Rambo captures the essence of my question:

Where do I go when there's nobody else to turn to?
Who do I talk to when nobody wants to listen?
Who do I lean on when there's no foundation stable?
I go to The Rock.

When the earth all around me is sinking sand
On Christ, the solid rock I stand
When I need a shelter, when I need a friend
I go to The Rock

Who is your refuge?

China and the Unseen Presence

Joel 1
20 Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Psalm 42
1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.


Desperation may be the most despised, and yet valuable condition known to God’s creatures. Desperate ones survive, and even thrive under extreme circumstances. As the panting deer searches for water, so the panting soul searches for God, says the Psalmist. Desperation moves them both.

Several internet news sites report the findings of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) that the end of “The Age of America” is near. The numbers reflect that by 2016 America will cease to rank first as the world’s strongest economy. She will slip to number two behind the looming presence of China.

So what awakened the Sleeping Dragon to such fiscal prominence? Was there something greater than economic strategy that thrust China into the profitable limelight? I want to suggest something here that may sound a bit trite, if not altogether ridiculous to some.

Though China is still led by an extremist government driven by communism, there are 100 million sold out Christians in that nation who are desperate for the presence of God. They’re forced to worship “underground” and persecuted by imprisonment if they challenge the system. The blood of martyrs, executed for daringly professing faith in Jesus, cries out from their soil. Believers in China pant after God. To use the imagery of the Psalmist, his presence is like a “flowing stream” to the thirst ridden deer.

Have you ever watched a video of the Chinese underground church? I did, and I was profoundly shamed by my lack of passion for Jesus as I watched these believers pray for hours until their “sweat became like great drops of blood.” If an American Christian displays such unbridled fervor, some call them “weird,” and most likely, many of the mockers would be church folk. But for the underground church in China this is the norm, not the exception. Even this past Easter some were arrested for attempting to worship in public. Christians in China don’t just believe in Jesus, they pant after him. They’re survival does not depend on fair government, but on the presence of God.

The fathers of America knew our nation’s continuance depended on the blessing of God. In the early days they, too, panted for God, or at least encouraged the church to. Up to the 20th Century our most noted university presidents were revivalists who led the church and the nation to encounter God. Even political leaders who didn’t claim a personal experience with Christ called days of fasting and prayer. This is the atmosphere that propelled America to become the driving force among nations.

Could it be that China has risen to economic global prominence because of a concealed presence that saturates their land? There’s an unseen presence in China from panting after God. And while the Chinese church was forced “underground,” could it be that their red hot intercession has surfaced and blessed the land. Just as the Ark of the Lord brought blessing to Obed-edom and his household, the presence of God has ascended to bring blessing upon this communist nation. It’s possible that the emerging prosperity of China is a reflection of the prosperity of soul within the hidden church who has chased after God and prayed for their homeland. If it’s true that China’s new found affluence could be linked to the spiritual devotion of their believers' pursuit of God, could it also be true that the end of “The Age of America” has come about due to our lack thereof?

Joel notes that “Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up.” The godly headwaters that once poured through America have slowed to a trickle. But there is hope; that our desperate condition will cause us to once again pant after the flowing streams of God’s presence.

How Important Is It, Anyway?

Psalm 39
1 "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."
2 I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse.
3 My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 "O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
7 "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
11 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah
12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!"


When something, or better, someone, bothers us, sometimes the first thing we want to do is tell them what we think. Our opinion, right or wrong, seems right to us and is the very thing we think they need to hear. The more we think about the issue that needs to be dealt with the more we boil inside. “Someone”, we fume, “needs to do something about it…now!”

I’ve heard Psalm 39:1 quoted for many years. David was facing an issue, most likely a person, who needed to be corrected. We might say they needed to be “told off”. It may have been King Saul while chasing David through the wilderness. Whoever and whatever it was, it made David’s blood hot and his first reaction was to pray that he didn’t sin by blowing his stack and popping off his mouth. So he prayed that he would not sin with his tongue.

In my mind I watch David walk outside and ponder, contemplating just how important the issue that consumed him really was in light of the brevity of life. When he considered eternity, it was lost among God's timeless wonder.

That’s when David cried out, “O LORD, make me know my end…the measure of my days…how fleeting I am…you have made my days a few handbreadths…my lifetime is as nothing before you…all mankind stands as a mere breath!” (Italics mine). He presses the pause button, closing with his infamous “Selah.” Pause. Reflect. Mull it over. And as he does, his hotheadedness, this heated desire to make a wrong thing right surfaces as trivial hodgepodge. It light of his time on earth the matter was lost among things that matter most. In eternity it doesn’t even register.

“You have made my days a few handbreadths.” Hold your hand up and look at it. The average width of a man’s hand is four inches. The Psalmist suggests that a few (maybe three) widths of your hand represent the span of your life. Now consider all the space around your hand; the space in the room, outside the room, the air, the atmosphere, the universe. Your whole life on earth is but a speck when compared with eternity.

Now consider the thing that’s ignited your emotions and triggered your tongue. It’s doubtful you will even remember it later in life, much less in heaven. For this reason, I see David hanging his head in disbelief at his attitude. He concludes, “O Lord, for what do I wait?” What was I thinking! I’ve allowed this thing (or person) to consume my thoughts, my heart, and my words. I’m waiting to correct a situation that doesn’t even matter that much!

This God seeker apprehends his heart and draws himself back to where he belongs. “My hope is in YOU” (caps mine). I’ve been a fool, says David, placing so much importance on such a trifling matter! Early on the king saw the issue as gigantic, now he replies, “Deliver ME from all MY transgressions. Do not make ME the scorn of the fool!” (Caps mine).

Someone spoke against me; people gripe about work; no one is willing to help; jealousy abounds among family we love. I’ve experienced any number of things unsettle my heart and cause me to strategize as to how I should deal with situations. In the breadth of life, however, it’s a mere fragment. And in eternity it will not even appear on the radar. The only thing that changed by chewing on the issue was the attitude of my heart. And that was for worse.

Today I ask: All my days considered, how important is the thing that causes my temper to grow hot, that triggers my tongue to speak words that only hurt my spirit and wound those around me? Is my hope in wrong things being made right or in God!

Prayer: Lord, draw me to yourself today. Bring the light of your presence so close to me that everything that causes me to lose my peace vanishes in the light of your glory. Because I’m close to you, it disappears before me, too.

Help me have a right heart when I deal with wrong people. Grant me the right words, your words, that I might not say a right thing in a wrong way and at the wrong time. If I need to bring correction, give me the heart of a tender servant, guiding people rather than driving them. O Lord, while living my life on earth give me grace to keep my eyes on what really matters in this life and in eternity. Amen.