“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
Luke 12:25
One Saturday morning I was running with the Wild River Ridge Runners in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. My Father-in-Law, who at that time was about the age I am now, turned to a friend along about the three-mile mark and panted, “I sure hope I enjoy the extra five years in the Rest Home I’m buying myself with all of this!” We all chuckled at the irony. We knew that while exercise, diet and good medical care might help us to feel better along the way, the span of our lives is in God’s hands alone.
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Psalm 139:16
God, who knit us together in our mother’s womb, is in charge of the length of our lives, too. There’s no point in worrying too much about when He’s going to call us home. We can trust Him with that, just as we can trust Him with each day that we live here.
The most important thing to consider is what happens after the span of this life has run its course. Knowing Jesus takes care of that worry as well. His forgiveness, which we experience every day in this life, means that our Home in heaven is being prepared, too. At the right time, we’ll get to see it.
Lord, “my times are in your hands.” You are the Lord of my life. Each day and each year are a gift from You. I will rest, trusting You with all that’s beyond my control, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles