As David ponders the very existence of mankind, he concludes that our life is but a vapor. James picks up on this very thought and reminds us that, even though we think our days are in our control, they are not: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:13–14). As the hymn writer has written, “Life at best is very brief, like the falling of a leaf.” Each of us have an allotted amount of time here on this planet. The Bible says, “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

While life here on earth is brief, it does not have to be without meaning or purpose! Many live as if this life is all there is, and they give very little thought to what happens after death. This can lead to a very hopeless existence. Many ask the question, “Why am I here?” The answer to that question is found in the very One who created you—not your parents, but your Creator. The psalmist would remind us that we have One who “formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made … Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Ps. 139:13–14, 16).

He not only created you, but has paid the price to redeem you; your life has value and meaning in Christ! Put your hope in Him!