Psalm 90:12 - Time a Precious Gift.
Psalm 90:12 (KJV) So teach us to number our
days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NLT) Teach us to realize the
brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NCV) Teach us how short our
lives really are so that we may be wise.
COMMENTARY PEARL
"Be All There"
It's hard to explain when someone's life
has been cut short, dying at a relatively young
age. We expected that person to live a much
longer life. But who is to say that it wasn't his
or her appointed time to go? Who is to say that
it wasn't the exact length of life that God had
preordained for that man or woman from the very
beginning?
In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul
says of King David, "Now when David had served
God's purpose in his own generation, he fell
asleep; he was buried with his ancestors" (Acts
13:36, NIV). David, great a man as he may have
been, served God's purpose in his own generation
and then was taken off the scene.
That is why we want to make every day
count. To paraphrase the words of Moses in Psalm
90:12, "Lord, help us to realize our lives can end
on any day, so please show us how to use each
day wisely."
We don't know when our day will come. We
don't know when we will have "served God's purpose
in our own generation." When God calls you
home, you're going home! You can live on vitamin
C, zinc, and echinacea. You can drink green
tea, eat tofu, and avoid all the toxins you can,
but when your number is up, your number is up.
On the other hand, you will be around
until God is done with you. You won't go before
your time. You may or may not be the healthiest
person, but you will live to the time that God has
appointed for you - and worrying about it won't extend
your life for one moment.
At the same time, however, we aren't to
take foolish risks and "put the Lord to the
test." We can be assured that we are here until God
is done with us. As the apostle Paul said, "For
to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain"
(Philippians 1:21). So let's make the most of the lives
God has given us. As missionary Jim Elliot once
wrote, "Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the
hilt every situation you believe to be the will
of God." [Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie]
COMMENTARY
Lifelines
I'm writing these words [originally] soon
after my birthday.
No big deal just another stabbing
realization that I'm not getting any younger. I know
that because the cake won't hold all the candles.
Even if it could the frosting would melt before
I'd be able to blow all of them out. My kind and
thoughtful secretary reminded me of another approach I
could take. She gave me a birthday card showing an
old guy standing beside a cake covered with
candles. On the front it reads:
Don't feel you're getting old if you
can't blow out all the candles
just BEAT 'em out with your cane.
Children are about as encouraging. In all
seriousness my youngest once asked me if they had catsup
when I was a boy. I tried not to look offended -
he could have asked if they had the wheel. But
I was pleased to inform him that we not only
had catsup but also electricity, talking
movies, the radio, cars, and indoor plumbing. He
seemed amazed as he gave me that
you-gotta-be-kidding look, then turned and walked away. I
suddenly felt the need to lie down and take a nap.
But birthdays are milestones
significant points in the passing of time specific
yet mute reminders that more sand has passed
through the hourglass. They do, however, give us a
handle on the measurement of time which, when you
boil it down into minutes, really moves along at
a pretty good clip. There are 60 of them every
hour 1,440 every day. over 10 thousand of
them each week . . . about 525 thousand per year.
As of today - I've experienced millions and
millions of them. Talk about feeling old!
But they pass so quietly, so
consistently, they fool you. That's part of the reason
C.S. Lewis used to say:
The safest road to hell is the gradual
one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without
sudden turnings, without milestones, without
signposts The long, dull, monotonous years of
middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are
excellent campaigning weather [for the devil].
We mark our calendars with deadlines -
dates that set limits for the completion of
objectives and projects. To ignore those deadlines
brings consequences. To live without deadlines is
to live an inefficient, unorganized life,
drifting with the breeze of impulse on the fickle
wave of moods. We set deadlines because they help
us accomplish the essentials they
discipline our use of time they measure the length
of our leash on the clothesline of demands.
God, however, brings about birthdays
not as deadlines but lifelines. He builds them
into our calendar once every year to enable us to
make an annual appraisal, not only of our length
of life but our depth. Not simply to tell us
we're growing older but to help us determine
if we are also growing deeper. These lifelines
are not like that insurance policy you invested
in last year. There's no automatic promise of
annual renewal. Obviously, if God has given you
another year to live for Him, He has some things in
mind He has some very special plans to pull
off through your life. Surely it includes more
than existing 1,440 minutes a day!
The psalmist gives us the perfect prayer
to pray every year our lifeline rolls around.
So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of
wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Now let me caution you. Don't expect
wisdom to come into your life like great chunks of
rock on a conveyor belt. It isn't like that. It's
not splashy and bold nor is it dispensed
like a prescription across a counter. Wisdom
comes privately from God as a by-product of right
decisions, godly reactions, and the application of
scriptural principles to daily circumstances. Wisdom
comes, for example, not from seeking after a
ministry but more from anticipating the fruit of
a disciplined life. Not from trying to do
great things for God but more from being
faithful to the small, obscure tasks few people ever
see.
Stop and reflect. Are you just growing
old or are you also growing up? As you
"number your days" do you count just years - the
grinding measurement of minutes - or can you find
marks of wisdom character traits that were not
there when you were younger?
Take a look. You really don't have a lot
longer, you know. As a matter of fact, one of these
years your lifeline will be God's deadline. [Chuck
Swindoll www.insight.org.]
ILLUSTRATION
The morning sunshine glinted off the
snowcapped peaks that rimmed Lake Como as Teri and
Jesse paddled their kayaks along the shoreline. It
was our girls' day out to rest and have fun. But
my kayak barely moved as I deeply dug the
paddle into the water and strained to pull it
toward myself; trying to catch up. Bobbing behind
my boat was an eleven-foot-long driftwood log
that I was towing. I'd discovered it on our
shore-lunch break and thought it'd be perfect for
decorating my yard. But that was two miles of paddling
ago, and I regretted tying it behind me.
Only one more mile to go. Each time I
dipped a paddle in the water, my arms burned. Teri
and Jesse were nearly out of sight. I took a
deep breath. Maybe I should just quit.... But I'm
not a quitter. I fought my thoughts, tugging the
log the whole way.
When we beached our kayaks and I pulled
the log onshore, my heart sank That log really
wasn't unique or very pretty. It looked like all
the other driftwood logs that lined the shore by
the launch. I shook my head. I'd taken a
perfectly great day to relax and made it into a lot of
work. I was so determined not to quit that I paid
too high a price for something I really didn't
want.
After we loaded the kayaks into our
trucks, it took two of us to lift the log into mine.
I pulled away from the boat launch wondering
what other unimportant things I was lugging
around in my life.
Lord, reveal to me what is important, so
that I don't waste my time being busy and working
on things that don't matter. Amen. Rebecca
Ondov [Walking in Grace 2021 Devotional by
Guideposts and Zondervan]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC
Psalm 90:12 - Time a Precious Talent.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210225-0902.html
James 1:5-7 - FINDING WISDOM.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200720-0848.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.revelationnow.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
