Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12
In his book If Only It Were True, Marc Levy encourages readers to imagine a bank crediting their account with $86,400 each morning. The account can’t carry over any balance from day to day, and it deletes whatever remains. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!
He then points out that we do all have such a bank: it’s called time. Every morning we are given 86,400 seconds, and every night we forfeit whatever time we failed to spend wisely. There is no balance or overdraft; we can live only on today’s balance and hope to derive the utmost from it.
Although Christians have the certain hope of eternal life, our time on this earth is still limited. That’s why in Psalm 90 Moses reminds us, in light of the brevity of our human existence and the eternality of God, to number our days rightly so we may gain a heart of wisdom.
In our busy culture, we can become so preoccupied with living for the moment that we do not recognize the relationship between our mortality and sin. If we have no answer to death and do not want to live fearing it, the best we can do is to ignore it and live as though our days are not numbered.
But in the resurrection of Jesus Christ we do have an answer to death, and we need have no fear of it. Our lives can trust in and attest to God’s providential care, which gives substance, foundation, and meaning to our existence. We need God to bring this truth home to our hearts and minds.
Numbering our days rightly is a result of both an inward transformation that God’s Spirit effects over time and a conscious effort to use our time in light of eternity. And there’s no better day than today to begin numbering our days rightly! We won’t stay this age for another moment. When you meet elderly Christian men and women who exhibit deep wisdom and are content with how they spent their lives, it is because of commitments they made in the prime of life. Their examples should inspire us to follow the guidance of Ecclesiastes: “Remember … your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Be as determined to avoid wasting time in this life as you are to avoid squandering the money in your bank account. Cherish the mundane and seemingly insignificant moments and ask God to use them to make a difference in your soul and for those around you. Make every second count for Christ.
