Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalm 90:7-12
Psalm 90:7-12
7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. 10 The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
As we get older we understand this passage better. No matter how long a person lives, it seems to go by in such a hurry. As a kid I would hear older people talk about how time seems to fly away and how each year seems to get shorter and I would wonder why they said these things. As I have gotten older I see that time is fleeting and no matter how many our days they are indeed full of trouble and sorrow. So in such a short time we reach those golden years.
We, as the Psalmist, need to ask God to teach us to number our days aright so that we might gain a heart of wisdom. Paul says we are to redeem the time. This is saying the same thing. We are to use each day to the best of our ability to accomplish the will of God. It also means we learn what is really important and what does not matter in the end. So much of our lives are spent on things that have no real value and will mean nothing when our lives are over.
The more material possessions we accumulate, the more there will be to dispose of by those we leave behind. In all my years as a preacher and talking with people as they faced death, I have never yet heard anyone say they wished they had spent more time at work. But I have listened as several told how they wished they had spent more time with their children while they were growing up. Or how they wished they had begun at an earlier age to teach and show their children how important it is to serve God. I have heard the regrets of those who wished they had spent more time studying their Bibles and learning the word of God better.
Teach me O Lord to number my days and give me wisdom to use each day to your glory. Open my eyes to see what is truly important in life and attend to it. Forgive me when I fail. Help me as I live in a country that is consumed with entertainment and sports, to not allow the things of this world to overwhelm me so that I neglect serving you and those around me. Help me use everything you have given me to your glory. Thank you for those you have put in my life and help me show each of them love as you have shown me your love. Be with those who are sick and those who are taking treatments. I pray in the name of Jesus. --Robert
