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Numbering Our Days
Pause and take a breath. And reflect before you head out into the busyness of our daily lives.
I've been traveling a little more than normal lately. A little bit for work. A little bit for vacation. It's not really a new normal, but a few weeks ago while I was in South Carolina I was meeting with a software development company that my employer does business with. And in my role, I have to sign some of the contracts that we do for work. I probably do a little bit more than that, but sometimes I feel like I'm just needed to sign stuff. But at their company a man named Robert signs on their behalf. He's one of the founders. And even though we've been working with this company for some time and had passed a lot of documents back and forth, I had never met Robert. And so, I had never been able to put a face with the name that I had seen over and over again. But this time, on this trip, I did. In fact, we enjoyed a really nice meal together along with several others. And of course, we talked about the work that we shared in common. But we also talked about our families, and our hobbies, and a little bit about where we grew up. Needless to say, I learned a lot about Robert and of course a little bit more about some of the others that I had already known. I enjoyed meeting him and hearing about his experiences with a son he has who's in college and we share that in common. He talked about their family trips to Myrtle Beach. And he shared his passion for Greenville, South Carolina, which is the city where his business was located. We talked a little bit about how we think artificial intelligence might affect our business in the coming years in the near future.
And then late last week I got a phone call. Robert was gone. He passed away unexpectedly. He was probably late 40s early 50s. He seemed to be in very good health. I had dinner with him on a Monday night and the following Monday he was gone. And that idea has really weighed on me. And I've been carrying that around for a while.
You know there are so many great passages where God, through His spirit, is essentially calling out to us to acknowledge the brevity of life. To have God's eternal purpose rather than our really limited perspective on life. One of them that comes to mind I think for most of us is probably James 4.14:
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
But today I want you to mark down and I want you to reflect with me on Psalm 90.12. This reads:
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
You know you can't count something that goes on forever and ever. You can count something that has a beginning and an end. Our lives don't go on forever. There is a beginning and an end. And the psalmist here acknowledges that when we remember that our days will come to an end it should have a profound impact on the way we think and ultimately the way we live. Specifically, numbering our days should give us heart of wisdom. It ought to make us act in ways that are a lot smarter and a lot wiser than when we forget everyone is going to die.
That feels like a really weird thing to stand up in front of a crowd and say. And I think that is because it's a reality that we really like to put out of our minds. Because we all know it's true, but we don't always act like and live like it's true. I’m asking you to take the psalmist’s advice and for a moment remember your days. Consider what is most important to you when you acknowledge that our time and days are limited. What is most important when you number your days right now in this moment?
Is there something that you need to do to make your life right before God?
