Wisdom for Numbered Days

It’s Sunday morning--sunny, cool, and windy. Pleasant weather for an early walk to the nearby community garden to check on the raised bed I share with a friend. Listening to a psalm, I have a little one-on-one time with God:

Grassy meadow next to the community garden in my neighborhood

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night…For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. (Ps. 90:1-4,7-8)

I think about Moses, who wrote these insightful words more than 3000 years ago. Moses, alone in the desert, like I am alone in the garden—Moses, who didn’t have the knowledge, books, or the benefit of history that I have, yet, he knew the important things: God is eternal, our physical lives will end, time is relative, we can’t stand against God’s anger, we can’t hide. That all sounds kind of ominous. But then comes the part that gives me hope and reminds me God is good:

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (vs. 12)

Moses, in the deep quiet of the desert, surrounded by a vast sky replete with stars, felt the

compelling presence of God. He was very aware of God’s “bigness” and his own “smallness”. Maybe that is why he was so humble. I ask God to help me have the awareness of Moses, even in the midst of all the noise and star-blocking light of our present time, knowing my days are numbered, so that I can live each day to the full.

I’m guilty of wasting time too often, of doing my own thing before checking with God, of forgetting that each day is a gift and tomorrow may not come. He finds a way to remind me how few days I may have left, and I get serious. The importance of walking righteously before God is magnified. I’m acutely aware of the grace I’ve received through Christ, and I’m so thankful. The work of God on Earth and my part in it, no matter how small, becomes all-important.

I think about what I need to do on my way home. I reserve Sundays primarily for rest, renewal, and fellowship, but I try not to hold anything too tightly and remain flexible. Lord, help me to be attentive to your voice, to remember what you’ve called me to, and give me a heart of wisdom so that I please you in every way for all my numbered days.