4,509. That’s how many days I have left if the Lord allows me to live to age 70. Psalm 90:10 says, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.”
Psalm 90:12 exhorts the reader, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” This verse offers a practice with a promise. The practice being to number our days and the promise being a heart of wisdom.
A seminary professor told a story of a man who went through a personal struggle resulting in his awareness of the brevity of life. Afterwards, he took Psalm 90:12 to heart and calculated the days he had left if he lived to age 70. He then started the countdown to 70 to make sure he was getting the most out of each day.
Whether we actually number our days or just become more sensitive to the fact that our life is a vapor, it is important that we each make the most of our time.
How can we get the most out of each day? Here are five considerations:
1. Recognize that life is a gift. Every good gift we have comes from God and life itself is a gift. We know from reading the obituaries in the local paper that death is no respecter of persons, and it comes to people of all ages and health conditions. We are alive by the grace of God and would do well to thank the Lord each day for another day of life.
2. Understand that your life matters. While some believers carry an overinflated view of self-importance, I think most of us are on the other end of the spectrum asking whether our life is really making a Great Commission difference. God has entrusted each believer with spiritual gifts, a station in life, personality and skills that are useful in His service. Our responsibility is to remain sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and obey God as He leads us to invest all He has entrusted to us. To make the most of each day, just remember that your life matters.
3. Set biblical values and priorities for your life. Determine that you will not allow unconfessed and unforsaken sin to remain in your life and decide to invest your one life in God’s mission. It has been said that most of us overestimate what we can accomplish in one year and underestimate what can be done in five or 10 years. Consider asking God how He wants to use you and surrender yourself to His leadership. Would you also pray and ask God if He is calling you to spend your life in vocational or bivocational Christian ministry?
4. Develop a growth mindset. President Harry Truman said that “not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Whether you grow by reading and listening to books, spending time with other leaders, going to conferences and seminars, or something different — make up your mind that you will not drift through life mindlessly, but instead invest daily and annually in your own personal and professional development.
5. Enjoy the life that God has given you. God does indeed give us every good gift to enjoy. If you are a task driven person like me, you may do well to spend more time focusing on enjoying the life, people and places that God has blessed you with. Sometimes it is good to just sit in a chair with a cup of coffee and enjoy God’s faithful provision.
On Father’s Day I heard a great sermon on this same topic from Jesse Wright, student pastor at Simpsonville Baptist Church. Jesse preached from Psalm 90:12 and shared that numbering our days reminds us that God is in control, that we should make the most of our time and that we must take sin seriously. As part of his application, he admonished us to, “Pray Psalm 90:12 back to God every day until your perspective becomes an eternal perspective.” That sounded like a great idea to me, and I have started doing it. Maybe you should consider it also.
Dr. Todd Gray 