I found myself last month staring at four white squares on my four-month-at-a-glance calendar with no writing on it. No agenda. No plans. This is a rarity for me. I hardly knew where to start. However, this white space didn’t happen by accident. It only happened after I decided to not attend a long awaited training with some of my favorite people in Tennessee. After much prayer, I felt it was in my best interest to remain home. And so I had four days in front of me to do whatever I wanted. Some of those hours were spent on much needed ministry attention, but other hours were pure bliss of spending time with my people and going on visits I had kept for another day. This was the day for them! Psalm 90:12 tells us, “Teach us to number our days carefully, so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Those four days reminded me of the importance of living life on and with purpose—Psalm 90:12 is a challenge to not just number our days but use them purposefully.
Dr. Tony Evans illustrates this portion of scripture like this, “Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once.”
How will you and I spend our days?
The verse before us has nothing to do with the length of our days, but rather asks the Lord to teach us to make the days we are given worthwhile.
We need to consider every day as a precious gift—one that can’t be repeated.
We need to learn not to squander these moments, but to invest them with meaning and purpose.
Yesterday is gone.
Tomorrow is uncertain.
Today is here—use it wisely.
- Your days may be filled with raising babies and toddlers—every book read, every nose wiped, every hug squeezed has purpose.
- Your days may be filled with caring for an elderly parent—every repeated phrase has purpose.
- Your days may be filled with providing for your family—every dollar has purpose.
No matter the season of your life, there’s purpose lurking around every corner. There are times you may need to consider an attitude adjustment or you may find yourself having to reprioritize your day. However, one thing we need to remember is that we don’t control what happens to us, but we get to choose how we react to what happens to us.
And reprioritizing your day, or even your mindset, may be the doorway to a purposeful day.
So you ask, how can we number our days well, and what does that actually look like?
First, seek God daily for guidance and direction. Seek God’s wisdom on how to best walk out the day in front of you. Spend time meditating on His Word and have an open ear to hear what He is asking and where He’s leading.
Secondly, keep the end in mind. I know we don’t like thinking about it, but one day our life on this earth will end. While that’s a sobering thought, it’s also a reality. And if we keep that end in mind it can give a greater sense of purpose and urgency to what’s important to do today.
Lastly, prioritize what’s most important, rather than what is urgent. What’s most important should take precedence in our lives.
Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). What if the path to experiencing the fullness of life is found when we understand our days here are limited and we use them to seek Him and follow Him with our whole heart and find purpose in each day?
Would your day look different?
Oh God, we need Your help to consider every day a precious gift—a life lived on purpose. May we be all in and invest in the lives of others with meaning and purpose.
Journeying with Him,
Jessie