Number Our Days

I've something really good to share with ye'all.

from the daily devotional I get by e-mail:

The New Living Translation of Psalm 90:12 reads, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” This captures the meaning of the original Hebrew, though not its poetic character. If you were to translate this verse more literally, you might come up with: “So teach us to number our days, that we might bring a heart of wisdom.”

What does it mean to number our days? It’s not the ability to count how many days we have lived or to predict how many days we have left. Numbering our days means, as the NLT indicates, realizing the brevity of life. It means knowing that we only have so many days on this earth, and therefore we want to “seize the day,” living each day to the fullest.

When we recognize that we have only so much time on this earth, that truth will help us think rightly about how to spend our time. This, in turn, will encourage us to grow in wisdom. We will want to judge well how to use the time allotted to us, and this requires godly perspective. It’s not just knowing what we can do, but also what we should do. When we number our days, we will strive to fill each one with value, living every moment for God’s purposes and glory.

I needed to hear that.  It goes right along very well with a quote I posted on Facebook this week:

"I have concluded that the accumulation of wealth, even if I could achieve it, is an insufficient reason for living. When I reach the end of my days, a moment or two from now, I must look backward on something more meaningful than the pursuit of houses and land and machines and stocks and bonds. Nor is fame of any lasting benefit. I will consider my earthly existence to have been wasted unless I can recall a loving family, a consistent investment in the lives of people, and an earnest attempt to serve the God who made me. Nothing else makes much sense."  (Dr. James Dobson)

Wow!  To me.... that's some wise teaching.

Out for now....

MH