1 Chronicles 29:13–15: “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I [David], and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope.”

September 17th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Old-time radio pastor Vernon Magee called this, “One of the greatest prayers in the Scriptures and certainly the Old Testament.” Here, at the end of David’s life, he admitted that everything good that had happened in his life happened because of God. David was clearly recognizing that his kingdom was really God’s kingdom. He remembered his lowly beginnings as an unknown, unimportant Bethlehem shepherd boy, following sheep. He also acknowledged the great irony that everything he gave to God had really come from God in the first place.

We have the same problem, don’t we? We give back to God, place back in His hands, that which is already His. We, like David, are simply travelers and sojourners, citizens of another kingdom. Our days here are as brief as a wisp of smoke, here one minute and gone the next. Since this is a truth that none of us can ignore or change, how should we then live our lives? We shoot too low when we let our highest goal in life be to just get through with minimal pain and maximum pleasure.

There is a funny quote by a 100-year-old man who was interviewed by a reporter. The reporter asked, “What is the secret of living to 100 years of age?” The old man replied, “Well, you get to be 99, and then you are very, very, very careful!” But David was shouting that there was more to living life than just being careful. The Spanish philosopher and author, Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936), said, “May God deny you peace, but give you glory.” He was counseling us to live life to the fullest by taking risks in our service to the Lord. David risked it all in serving God, and the world was changed because of it.

“LORD, we are here for such a short time. So help us to live this day to the fullest and give back to You in service all that we are, all that we have, and all that we’re not.”