Numbering Our Days

by Aug 28, 2020Easy and Light

Numbering Our Days

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalms 90:12

Both of my little boys lost a tooth last month and in an instant, their smiles were different. When it happened, each held their tiny tooth in their palms, their grinning mouths suddenly defined by the small open space where that tooth had just been. Both times, our family gathered around them and cheered. I made proud posts to social media. The teeth were excitedly placed under their pillows to await the visit from the tooth fairy. All of these things happened very quickly. But now, more than a month later, I am still seeing those small open spaces each time my boys smile.

Does anyone else feel that the days have all blurred together lately? Our usual milestones of time passing – birthdays, holidays, vacations, even the first day of school – all look so different. Many of us feel like we are standing in place, waiting for updates, waiting for our current situation to improve. We consider the future often: “maybe in a month” we think, or “by next year.” But when my boys smile, I am reminded that time does not wait. Time is passing even when we don’t give it permission. It is most important to consider what we can do with today.

Father God, though times may continue to feel uncertain, we pray that you bring Your wisdom into each of our moments, guiding us through each present day, and living according to Your will. We ask for You to remind use our time here for Your glory now and not wait for our situations to improve: the timing is always perfect to do Your works. We thank you for each second of this precious life that You have given us and pray that we use them in ways that point to You.

Psalm 90:12 asks God to teach us to number our days. It begs that He may put upon us the knowledge to account for the fleeting time spent here. We need God to reveal to us the brevity of life so that we may spend this time most wisely. Each day, each moment, each second of our lives has value because He has given it to us. Again and again the Bible reminds us of this. In Ephesians 5:16-17, God tells us “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” In Colossians 4:5 – “Use your time in the best way that you can.” James 4:14 reminds us that our lives here on earth are “just a vapor that appears for a little awhile and vanishes away.”

Just as Moses does in Psalm 90:12, we must ask God for the wisdom to account for our time. We must pray that His grace will produce in us the light of good works. This isn’t a time to stand in place, waiting for what tomorrow will bring. Regardless of what today looks like, let us use it to bring glory to Him and blessings into the lives of others.

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