Seize the Day!
Did you know that Moses wrote one of our psalms? And since he lived around 1400 BC, that makes Psalm 90 the oldest worship song on record!
The Spirit-inspired poem contrasts God’s eternal nature with the temporary, fleeting life of man.
Moses writes: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom ” (Psalm 90:12).
Here’s the point:
If we’re smart, we will live with an eye toward eternity because we’ll be there before we know it, standing before God to give an account for the way we lived the life He loaned us.
Time really does move quickly.
We have this antique clock at home. It chimes every hour.
I hear those chimes and sometimes think: That can’t be right–it’s too soon to mark the passing of an hour. But it’s accurate! Time moves at the speed of unbelievable!
One minute your toddlers are learning to walk, the next moment they’re driving off to college!
Lately, when those chimes go off I whisper a prayer: “God, help me make this day count for you!”
And here’s the hard part:
Fallen creatures that we are, we tend to spend a good deal of our precious limited allotment of hours in less than meaningful ways.
Like a frantic little hamster.
He runs and runs on that spinning wheel, expending a whole lot of energy but going nowhere, fast.
Are we like the hamster?
Worrying instead of trusting?
Bickering instead of blessing?
Serving ourselves instead of serving God?
Take the guy who spent his whole life making money (Luke 12).
He became wealthy at the expense of his relationship with God.
And then he died.
Jesus called him a fool–not in a pejorative way, but in a descriptive way of someone who lacks sense.
The man thought he had it made–his mortgage was paid off and his barns were overflowing with material possessions. He gave no thought to the condition of his soul or the brevity of life.
He was rich in this world, but he was poor toward God (Luke 12:21).
And Moses is afraid of squandering the gift of life in ways that have no eternal value. So he prays, teach me to utilize the precious time given me with a heart of wisdom.
C.T. Studd was a well-known British missionary who served the Lord with Hudson Taylor in the 1800’s. These verses in Psalm 90 always remind me of his famous poem: Only One Life
Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart:
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat:
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the Still Small Voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave:
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Well then, how can we make our days count for Christ?
I think if we seek to follow the “greatest commandment” (to love God with all our hearts), we’ll find ourselves…
Starting the day with prayer.
Reading His word.
Abstaining from sin.
Sharing the gospel.
Bridling our tongues.
Building people up.
Pointing others to Jesus.
Serving in a ministry.
Giving to the Lord’s work.
Encouraging the downcast.
Loving our enemies.
Forgiving those who’ve offended us.
Going the extra mile.
Can you imagine if we spent as much time praying as we do complaining?
Here’s the secret of making our lives count for God:
Jesus called it “abiding in the Vine.” That simply means:
Living near the Lord; staying close to Him–in all our ways, acknowledging Him.
Father, teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom ,
so that when those final chimes sound, we can present to You a life that mattered.
