Counting Our Days
This is an audio recording of Counting Our Days the Day 6 entry in Today: Devotions for Seafarers (Vol. 2) by Jason Zuidema.
Listen to the audio by Donielle Hart Goad or read the text below:
“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.”
Things can quickly get complicated when you arrive in a foreign country without knowing your precise destination. This can be especially difficult when you are traveling far to join a shipping crew but you don't have all the right information.
In a time before the Internet was available everywhere, I arrived in a large foreign city after losing the directions to my hotel. I asked several people for help in locating my destination, but without the exact name of the hotel or street, they were unable to guide me. So for a few long hours I faced the reality of being lost. Often in life we think we are heading in the general direction of our goal, but still we end up lost. Though we might start out well, we can quickly lose interest or be distracted from considering the next actions we must take.
In order not to lose track of where we are going and why we are going there, we find encouragement in Psalm 90 to "number our days." Now, the psalmist is not talking here about simple math-- counting the number of days that we might potentially live. No one can know that but God himself. Rather, the psalmist urges us to consider the shortness of life, and that nothing in this life except living for God should be our ultimate goal, or the ultimate treasure we have in mind. Money, fame, possessions-- none of that will last. As a popular saying goes, "When you die, you can't take it with you."
When we number each day with God as our main focus and guide, we gain wisdom for this life and the life to come.
For Further Thought
Have you ever felt lost in a foreign city? What was that like?
What do you do when you are lost?
How can the Bible teach us the right way to go?
Prayer
Almighty God, you are the source of all life. We know that each day of our lives is a gift from your hand. Help us to live each day in the light of your Word. Amen.
