Teach Us to Number Our Days
Lord's Day Exhortation
When you think in terms of decades, earthly life suddenly compresses.
Depending on your age, you may expect to live another 60, 40, or 20 years, Lord willing, of course. But when you stop and consider how quickly the past five years have gone by… or the last ten years… you will get a glimpse into the speed of the coming decades.
Life is not slowing down.
It is with this understanding that James calls us all to consider, “What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:14). So, what are you to do with this somewhat depressing observation? With this reminder that the length of your days is like a mere breath?
In Psalm 90, we read a prayer of Moses, in which he asks the Lord, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (v. 12). Here we see that the awareness to even acknowledge and account for our fleeting lives is to acquire a measure of wisdom. This is a necessary part of Christian living, that we might then rightly ask the Lord to show us how to make the most of our time.
This morning, God is calling you to examine your life. None of us knows how long we really have, but we do know that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). No matter your age, there is not far to go now.
And so the questions to seriously ask yourself are: How are you living before the Lord? How are you spending the days He has given you as a gift? Are you facing outward, selflessly loving and serving those around you? Or are you turned inward, pursuing your own selfish pleasure? What kind of legacy are you creating right now? How will you be remembered?
The Book of Ecclesiastes is all about this mystery of our fleeting days, and it concludes with this charge to keep in mind each day: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecc. 12:13).
Therefore, consider your ways, and press on by the grace of the Lord.
This exhortation was given on November 16, AD 2025, at King’s Cross Church in Moscow, Idaho.