Devotionals

Living The Wise Life

by Stephen Wong
01/22/21
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“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”    Psalm 90:12 NIV

As much as people try to delay the effects of aging, there is no denying that life is shorter than we would like to think. As we reflect on the past, it can seem like our childhood and adolescent years simply flew past us. Very soon, we are watching our own children grow up before us in the blink of an eye. It seems like each new year passes by quicker than the last. The one thing that is clear is that none of us can stop time. Like new grass that springs up in the morning and dries up by the evening under a hot sun, our time in this world is limited (Psalm 90:5-6).

Psalm 90 is identified as a prayer of Moses. In this prayer, he contrasts the eternal nature of God with the frailty and shortness of our lives. Even those of us who are blessed to live up to our seventies or eighties and beyond must face the truth that our years will fly past us (Psalm 90:10). The psalmist also acknowledges God’s wrath against sin and that the wrongdoings of his people are not hidden from him (Psalm 90:7-9). In light of all this, he prays for God to teach his people to number their days, so that they may gain wisdom in how to live rightly in their remaining years (Psalm 90:12). 

Many of us would rather avoid reflecting on the brevity of life. Instead, so many of us only want to focus on our immediate needs and on what we can get out of our lives now. When we reach the end of our lives however, perhaps we will realize that many of the things we spent most of our time chasing after or worrying about really had no lasting value. Perhaps we will regret many missed opportunities when we could have sought after the things of eternal worth instead. 

May God teach us to number our days. As Christians, we can be confident that death will not be the end and through faith in Jesus we can look forward to the hope of resurrection and spending eternity with God. However, this shouldn’t be an excuse for us to be idle as we wait. Instead it should motivate us to make the most out of our life in this world to glorify God, knowing that one day we will give account to him for how we have used the time he has given us. May we each develop a heart of wisdom so that we may understand how God wants us to live each remaining day for him. Although none of us can choose how much time we have left, we can choose how we use it.

Lord God,

I thank you for this life you have blessed me with. Although I know that my time in this world is fleeting, you have given me many opportunities to serve you. So as I wait for the day when Christ will return, please teach me to know how brief my remaining years are, so that I may gain the wisdom to faithfully use them all for you. In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen