You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. (Ps. 18:28)
How long will I live? A life insurance company’s Internet quiz speculates that I will live to be one hundred. Frankly, I don’t attach any credence to the quiz. The next time I play golf, a stray golf ball may strike my head and send me directly to heaven. Besides, Proverbs 27:1 counsels: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” So I cannot predict how long I will live. Nor can you predict how long you will live.
One of my Greek professors, Dr. Kenneth Wuest, commented occasionally, “The servant of the Lord is immortal until his life’s work is done.” I think that philosophical statement is a winner. As long as you and I are still breathing, we still have work the Lord wants us to do. Even an immobile believer can pray, and who can argue that prayer is not an important ministry?
David credited God with keeping him alive. The lamp of his life was still burning in spite of the efforts of ruthless enemies to extinguish it. Isn’t it comforting to know our lives are in God’s hands and they will continue as long as He has work for us to do on earth? It is also comforting to know that someday He will promote us to service in heaven.
Seize your opportunity to serve the Lord today.
Jim Dyet and his wife, Gloria, have been married fifty-three years and live in Colorado Springs, where Jim enjoys daily walks with his three dogs.
