Number Our Days

Good Morning,

Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (TM)
Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
Psalm 90:12 (NLT)
Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (CEV)
Teach us to use wisely
all the time we have.

I guess that at first blush it might seem a bit redundant to have all these different versions of one short verse of Scripture. However, I think that we can learn something maybe just a touch different from each of them, if we'll read them closely and allow the words to speak to us.

The gist of this verse, of course, is the fact that I have no idea when the end of my life might come. Neither do you. That's up to God to decide. What each of us DOES have though is the ability to live this life in such a way that we use our time well. That is, that we see each day as an opportunity to fulfill our God given purpose for being on this earth in the first place. As we read in the NIV, if we use our days rightly, we will gain "a heart of wisdom." That seems pretty obvious, I guess, to many of us. But, to some folks using their time for something other than frivolous and useless activities (pleasurable, yes, but useful?) instead of in service to God as He would have us to do, well, that's pretty much out of the question in thier lives. The Message translation tells us to "live well" and, of course, God wants us to do just that. The NLT sobers us with the fact that we need to "realize the brevity of life" so we can be wise in how we use each day. And, the CEV reminds us, yet again, to "use wisely all the time we have."

(Some might ask, "How do we KNOW our God given purpose for being on this earth?" And, that truly is a very good question. The answer is that God will let us know. He will make it clear if we will live our lives in such a way that we are paying attention to what is being taught in this verse. I mean, if we really DO number our days and listen to God, we will gain true wisdom. In that wisdom we will find the answer to what God has for us. Make sense?)

Okay, so, how does all of this relate, one might ask.

If we will look at our lives and fully realize that we have only a finite amount of time on this planet, listen to God and what He teaches us through the Bible and directly into our hearts and minds, then we will, truly, gain the heart of wisdom we read of today. With that wisdom, we will more easily realize what God wants us do accomplish for His kingdom and we can more easily decide what it is we should be doing at any point in time. When we're gaining wisdom by fully understanding that we only have but a few years to live, then we can listen to God as He teaches us to "live wisely and well." Here's where we must use our wisdom to understand what living well means. I don't think it means that we live to experience every pleasure known to mankind. I believe it means that we live well by being obedient to God and listening to Him as He guides our steps in accomplishing His purposes in our lives. That, my friends, is truly living well! Which brings us to the very sobering fact that we really do have to realize just how short this life is. And then, the next fact that we must use wisely this short time.

You see, to me all of these different versions of the same verse speak just a bit differently to me so that I can see more clearly what it is God wants me to learn today.

Bottom line here is that we can digest these words and put them to use in how we live, making sure that we eat the meat and vegetables of life. Or, we can go the other way and say, as someone once said, "Life is short...eat desert first!" Now, that might taste good momentarily, but, well, it shows a certain philosophy, doesn't it? I suggest we take the first option and forego the second.

I believe that in order to live a full, satisfying, and good life, then, we ought to pay attention to what God teaches us through His Holy Bible, His other children placed into our lives to help us, and to that all important still, small voice which speaks directly into our hearts and minds.

That, I think, is a good life.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David