Teach Us To
Number Our Days
Lord, you have been our
dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or
you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust, saying,
“Return to dust, you mortals.” A thousand years in your sight are like a day
that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. Yet you sweep people away
in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning: In the
morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.
We are consumed by your anger and
terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our
secret sins in the light of your presence. All our days pass away under your
wrath; we finish our years with a moan. Our days may come to seventy years, or
eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and
sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. If only we knew the power of
your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. Teach us to
number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:1-12
Number your days and use them
wisely. We never know when a doctor will call with bad news about our health.
We never know when another car will swerve in front of us. We are very fragile
human beings.
It’s not a good idea to cruise
through life thinking we are invincible and that everything will be just fine –
only to discover that we are far more fragile than we thought. There are no
guarantees in life.
Choose to live as though this
were our last moment on earth by loving more deeply, forgiving more readily,
giving more generously, and speaking more kindly.
Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is uncertain; today is here. Use it
wisely.
Our Daily Bread –