Teach us to number our days

Psalm 90:12

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

The tendency we have is to gauge our lives by years. We number our years, and say, “I am thirty years old,” or “I am sixty years old,” or “I am eighty years old.” But this is not the best way to number our lives. We are told in Scripture that we should number our days. You see, it is not just the years that matter, but each individual day matters. For each individually day has immense value. What about the day mankind was created? What about the day that the Great Flood came? What about the day that Israel, languishing in bondage, was released? What about the day that our Savior hung on the cross, and it remained dark from the sixth hour to the ninth hour? What about that day when Christ will come? We could list endlessly all the days that have changed the world and had eternal implications. All of these days are much greater than even the surrounding years! Every soul will be judged based on his or her rejection or acceptance of the One who died on that one day! You see, we are to number our days. There is no telling the great and eternal things that can be accomplished on one day, when that day is given to the Lord!

This psalm, written by Moses the man of God, speaks of the current events of his time. He speaks of God’s anger towards His people because of their sin, but also speaks of His plenteous mercy. Moses cries, “O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!” All our days! Every one of them! Let us be glad and rejoice in Him, even according to the days wherein we have been afflicted, because of His mercy! Is that not one way to make each day valuable—by rejoicing in the Lord? That is a wise way to number our days! He speaks of the shortness of each individual day. That is why we have a habit of wasting them and allowing them to continually fly by without much thought. “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night!” “We spend our years as a tale that is told!” That is the great brevity of life! It is quick and fleeting, and therefore must be leveraged for good and for God. We may live seventy years, or if we have strength enough, live eighty years. But still our days are full of labor and sorrow, and we are soon cut off, and fly away! Dear friends, we must number our days, and thereby apply our hearts unto wisdom!

I ask you this morning, will you pray and ask the Lord to make this day and every subsequent day count for His glory, His honor, and His work?

“Father, we know that our lives are truly brief, but they are also truly valuable. Every day can be used for you! May we yield every day to you, that it may be maximized and utilized for that which is good and right. May we make great differences in the lives of others, may we bless and encourage our brothers and sisters, and may we bring many a wanderer back to the fold of Christ. Use this day for your glory. We give it to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”