In our Bible study yesterday, we recognized just how short our time here on earth is. Our time is limited. We cannot add a second to our lives or go back in time. All we have is this moment that we are given, and we must treat our time as valuable as it is. One of the ways that we can make the most of the time that we are given is by choosing how we live wisely. After all, because our time is invaluable and limited, we must be wise about how we spend each moment.
Psalm 90 records a prayer from Moses, where Moses acknowledged the importance of living wisely based on the brevity of life. In this passage of Scripture, he wrote in his prayer to God, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty! But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away” (verse 10). Our lives, my friends, pass by more quickly than we can imagine. Several verses later, Moses continued, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (verse 12). It is clear from this verse that understanding just how short life is leads to wisdom. After all, because life is so short, we have to be wise about how we spend our time. That means letting go of the things that do not matter. Just as important, it means we have to be wise about how we spend our time, choosing to focus every moment on what matters most rather than the things that hold no eternal value.
All of us understand just how short life is. The question is, how will we respond to the truth that this life here on earth is momentary? Will we waste the time we are given here on earth, or will we choose wisdom, thoughtfully choosing the way we spend each moment? Life is short, my friend. Let’s be wise about how we spend every second of the precious life we are given here on this earth.
Today, pray the prayer of Moses in Psalm 90:12. Ask God to teach you to understand just how brief your life is and to help you choose wisely how you spend each moment that you are given. Let this prayer encourage you to spend each second today in wisdom.
1 Lord, through all the generations
you have been our home!
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying,
“Return to dust, you mortals!”
4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
as brief as a few night hours.
5 You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
6 In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We wither beneath your anger;
we are overwhelmed by your fury.
8 You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
9 We live our lives beneath your wrath,
ending our years with a groan.
10 Seventy years are given to us!
Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
soon they disappear, and we fly away.
11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
so that we may grow in wisdom.
13 O Lord, come back to us!
How long will you delay?
Take pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
16 Let us, your servants, see you work again;
let our children see your glory.
17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval
and make our efforts successful.
Yes, make our efforts successful!
