April 18
“So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12)
Moses Psalm 90, the only Psalm written by him that we know of, and here he is talking to God, and his prayer to God is that He would give us an understanding of our days, that is, the shortness of them, so that we would be wise. We only have a brief time on this earth.
Man is compared to grass in scripture (Psalm 103:15-16, Isaiah 40:7) and a vapor (James 4:14). When we are young, we think we will live forever. Old age seems like an eternity away. But then when you get older, you wonder where the time has gone, and you see all the opportunities you missed, and all the things you wish you could do differently and take back. Life seems brief indeed when one gets old, and young people need to understand that it happens a lot quicker and faster than you would ever expect.
Living life wisely, living life in light of eternity, is very difficult to do, at least for me. There are constant distractions, unending things that clamor for or demand our time, not to mention all the temptations to waste time entertaining ourselves. Living life for God, living a life of purpose, is difficult and goes against the grain of our sinful natures. It is in direct conflict with the flesh and the desires of the flesh. Yet this is precisely what we are called to do.
Paul says, “Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17) How many of us do this? How many of us work hard to plan our time, making the most of it for the Lord’s sake? How many of us when we make are plans are conscious of what the Lord would want us to do?
How many Christians really care about making the most of their lives for Christ? Do you? Do you really? What evidence can you give that you are concerned about making your life count for Christ? What plans have you made? What prayers have you prayed? Do you regularly ask the Lord to show you what you should be doing and to redeem your time for eternity? Have you thought about asking the Lord each morning these kinds of things, to show you His will and to enable you to redeem the time?
Several schools in my area have put the following phrase on their marquee: “Every minute counts.” I really appreciated this reminder. I typed and printed it out and taped it to my bathroom mirror. “Every minute counts.” Do we believe that? Do you believe that? Do you spend your time as if you believed it? If we took that saying to heart and prayed regularly to God and asked Him to enable us to make every minute count for His kingdom, before long each one of us would be changing the world.