DAILY DEVOTION, February 3, 2021, Number our days

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

Earlier in Psalm 90 we are told that the number of a man’s years are 70, perhaps 80 years. When I was in grade school 70 -80 years seemed like an eternity. Even in high school and college, it seemed like life on this earth would go on for a long time. Today my 85^th birthday is near, and I understand this Psalm of Moses. We senior citizens are often heard to say, “Where did the time go?” Well, it went by one day at a time. For me, that means 31,025 days have gone by since March 3, 1936. Life used to seem long, but we realize life is very short when we reach old age.

Moses cautions us to number our days. He is telling us that life is indeed brief. We are all under a sentence of physical death. His point is to use our time wisely. Don’t let the years slip by so quickly that we feel we have wasted too much time on trivial matters. We can never recover wasted time. One limerick put it succinctly. “Only one life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

The wise realize the brevity of life and seek to fill it with lasting things. Service to Christ and service to others will last. Is that what your life is about? 

Eternal God, help me to realize how brief my life is. In my case, most of my life is behind me. Help me to use my remaining days in ways that honor You. I pray in the blessed name of Jesus, Amen.