As I fought the first day of school traffic to park my car in the staff parking lot where I knew it would remain until the sun went down (because…first day of school, right?) I sang along to one of my favorite songs by All Sons & Daughters called “Great Are You, Lord.” I guess the Holy Spirit was showering me with all the warm fuzzies He knew I needed before I faced another school year full of high school freshmen (bless it) because I was FILLED with the Spirit! If you drove past me that morning, you. are. welcome. for the concert I was giving on Highway 69 South–windows down, hair blowing, singing at the top of my lungs, “It’s your breath in my lungs, so I pour out my praise to You only! Great are You Lord!”

As I found my parking spot, God spoke to me in ways I can understand that I was not to waste my day. He gave me that breath in my lungs for a reason. He led me to what is likely the oldest Psalm that Moses himself wrote when he was wandering around with the people of Israel in the desert. He may not have spent his days with hormonal teenagers all hyped up on too much caffeine and still learning the intricacies of personal hygiene, but at this point in his journey, he was surrounded by a nation of people who were hangry because they had been eating manna and quail for far too long!

In the 90th Psalm, Moses begins by expressing the fact that God always was, always is, and always will be; then He contrasts this with the fact that we are mortal and that our lives are but a blink of an eye in light of eternity. As I’m sure Moses was surrounded by complainers, moaners, and groaners, he confessed to God that he was aware of the fact that they were all miserable because of their own sin! He also describes the lives of an entire generation ending during their time in the desert because of that sin. Psalm 90:12 in the Living Bible translation reads, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Watching the end of an entire generation of people, and knowing that he, too, was living on borrowed breath, Moses cries out in verses 14 and 17, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days….May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us–yes, establish the work of our hands.” In view of life’s brevity, Moses asks the Lord to fill His people with wisdom and to reveal His work, demonstrate His power, grant His favor, and make Israel’s labor successful.

Friends, I am the first to admit that I get grumpy during a crazy school day and tend to moan and groan about paperwork or meetings. But that morning, God hit me square in the nose with the fact that this life on earth is far too short to waste that breath he gives me each morning on complaining about things which have no eternal relevance! He prepared the work He has given to all us in this life long before we drew our first breath! Let’s not waste it! Let’s spend time with Him each morning! Let’s ask Him to establish the work of our hands so that it might glorify Him and bring us joy! Let’s find God in every conversation throughout our day and ask Him to reveal his purposes for us in every task! When we face trials or troubles, let’s remember this world is not our home and that they are only temporary! Let’s thank God for that breath and ask Him to fill up our lungs with joy and praise for the One who is worthy of it all!