“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 NIV
Moses writes ‘teach us to number our days”. Why would we want to know how many days we have in this life? I have had family members who have lived long lives before moving from this life to the next and I have had family members who have lived what we would consider short lives. The common factor is that none of them knew exactly how many days they would spend here on earth.
I don’t believe most people want to know the number of days they have left because of the anxiety it could cause during the ‘countdown’, but the idea of realizing that we do not have an infinite number of days in this life is important. No matter the length of our lives, it can feel like we have ‘forever’ to do what we want and to get done what we feel should be done.
However, our lives are actually quite short when compared to eternity. By taking the idea of a fixed number of days, we are able to get to work doing what needs to be done. A foolish person wastes away days not focused on eternity, whereas a wise person spends time each day in communication with our Creator, listening for His direction, guidance to do His will. How often have we said ‘I will get to that tomorrow’ when we are thinking about or discussing spiritual matters. Setting aside time to spend with God should not be put off until tomorrow because no one is guaranteed tomorrow.
Moses ends the verse with saying that we can gain a heart of wisdom if we realize that we should not waste away our time. Moses wanted those he was leading to understand that they had only a short period of time to get right with God. That God would and will judge us all when we leave this life and enter eternity.
A heart of wisdom can be found in those who live this life seeking God and preparing for eternity. Eternity will come, for every one of us, so are we preparing now for where we will spend it?