Humans are Creatures of Weakness – formed by God from the dust. We are finite and frail compared to an omnipotent, eternal God.
So how can we hope to accomplish anything of any value with the short lives we have been given? How can we hope to change the world for Christ or even impact our own families? Consider Psalm 90.
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!’ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.” (vv. 1-4)
This Psalm gives us necessary perspective. Before the earth was formed, from everlasting to everlasting, God is God. A thousand years in our time is like the passing of one day to God. He is God and we are not. We need to begin here.
Reflecting on the Genesis account, this Psalm reminds us that we are dust. “The LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen. 2:7). Humans were formed from the ground, and we will all “return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19).
“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” (v. 10)
Our years disappear quickly in our short life and we fly away in death. But even our short lives are filled with toil and trouble, heartache and pain, struggle and futility.
How depressing!
In light of all this, what good can we do in life? Again we ask, how can we accomplish anything of value in the short, frail lives we’ve been given? Thankfully, Psalm 90 ends reminding us of the great hope we have in our great God.
“Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (vs. 16-17)
While we are creatures of weakness, God is a God of glorious power! Not only that, he shows us his glorious power and through the Holy Spirit, he gives us his power! Through the work of Christ, we can now know God’s favor. Because of God’s abundant grace, he can establish the work of our hands. When we work in his strength, with his power, with his presence, and for his glory, he will make our work firm. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). But when we rely on the Lord, he will make our efforts fruitful!
In raising our kids, ministering to our neighbors, serving the needy, working at our jobs, upholding justice, building the Church, spreading the Gospel, we can have confidence that our labor is not in vain!
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” | 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
And so, with confidence and hope, we can pray,
“Lord, make my life of service worth something; make it sure. May it be that, at the end of time, this collection of dust, this temporary mortal frail feeble, sinful Christian may have achieved something by your grace that will last to eternity.” – Christopher Ash, Zeal without Burnout
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If you want to continue to meditate, pray, and worship about this concept, check out this song: “Establish the Work of our Hands.”
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