Four Hopeful Words for this Friday

"Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they pass quickly and  we fly away." (Psalm 80:10 NIV)

There’s an old song that gets stuck in my head sometimes, you might know it, too. “Momma said there’d be days like this, there’d be days like this, my momma said.” The psalmist sung about it, too. Life is hard and our days are trouble. There’s no way around it, but the the last five words of this scripture pack hope enough to persevere: “And we fly away.”

Truthfully, I haven’t thought enough about heaven lately. The here and now has been awfully demanding. That’s surely the enemy’s intent, though. The sneaky snake does all he can to keep us preoccupied with details that don’t matter. He muddies the water so we lose sight of what’s most critical in nature.

This morning’s psalm reminds me, life passes by quickly. Do you remember the merry-go-rounds that inhabited playgrounds back in the eighties? We’d push and run as fast as we could, making that last leap in faith. Then we’d hold on for dear life, slowly getting sick as we realized we were going nowhere.

The key to resisting dizziness while turning circles is found in focusing on a fixed object. An unmoving tree on the horizon will steady our stomaches. Our souls require the same sort of anchor. This is why scripture implores us to keep our eyes on Jesus. When we can set Him as the center of our attention, the trouble of this world will slip by “and we fly away.”

"and let us run with endurance the race before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endure the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrew 12:1-2 NIV)

Lord, please forgive us for succumbing to the enemy’s onslaught. Forgive us for losing focus. This morning, we resettle our gaze on You, determined to walk through today’s trouble with the end in mind. One day we’ll fly away. One day we’ll share in Your joy. Until then, we fix our hearts and minds on our author and perfecter, determined to live out our days in a way that honors Your sacrifice. Amen.

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