We find ourselves at the beginning of the summer season, with Buffalo Days just underway and the promise of a full summer stretching ahead. The days are gaining more sunlight, and temperatures are rising.
My family has exciting plans that include camping trips, swimming lessons, VBS, basketball, and volleyball camps. We look forward to sunny days at the lake along with more opportunities to cast a fishing line.
Summer break was always my favorite time as a kid, and June held special significance, knowing that those long, carefree days were just beginning.
However, I often find myself bemoaning how quickly summer seems to pass. This feeling is puzzling; the schedule is not as packed, and the pace is more relaxed. Evening light lasts longer, yet the season still flies by.
Time can be perplexing. James L. Mays notes in his commentary on the Psalms that “Time is the medium of our mortality and so the favorite focus of our folly. … The young think they are immortal; the old despair because their time is over. Time is a burden when we have to wait, a scarcity when we are busy. It is the source of anxiety, illusion, and remorse.”
Some people excel at maximizing summer experiences through meticulous planning, but that isn’t my focus here. The Bible reminds us that the elusive passage of days illustrates how the illusion of time affects our existence. It helps us wrestle with questions such as, “Where does all the time go?”
Psalm 90 especially reminds us of life’s brevity. Verse 6 describes how life blooms in the morning yet fades by evening, while verse 10 reflects on the average lifespan: “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.” Despite this reminder of life’s fleeting nature, the Psalmist prays in verse 12, “So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
I realize that while I can’t stop time or adjust summer evenings to slow-mo, I can seek wisdom by recognizing my limitations and turning to the eternal God who is not bound by time through worship and prayer. Psalm 90 transforms reflections on time into petitions for what only God can do for us: “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (90:14).
Each morning gifts us the hope of a new day, and in early June, we hold onto the promise of a new summer. Through Jesus Christ, you can know the promise of everlasting life, filled with joy that never fades — even better than an endless summer. The power of his resurrection offers an antidote to a life that slips away.
Do you know the hope of new life in Christ? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
