“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

In this Psalm of Moses, he prays that we would recognize that our days are, in fact, numbered. Here at the start of verse twelve he simply asks God to help us understand this truth. Enlighten our minds to the fact that our days are short and that God is Lord over all of them. We cannot buy more days. I have heard it said that “time is not a commodity but a gift” from God’s hand. We have come to realize vividly in recent days that each day we have life is a precious gift from God, the author of life, and is not an entitlement. John Piper puts it well, “Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst…so don’t waste your life.” Rather, live in light of our numbered days and also eternity.

The purpose of understanding life’s brevity is so “we may gain a heart of wisdom.” How do we get this heart of wisdom? Not by trusting in empty pursuits, temporal comforts, and worldly deceptions, but by wholeheartedly trusting Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6). Jesus is called the wisdom of God and the wisdom from God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30); thus, wisdom is ultimately identified with Jesus. True wisdom is always Christ-based, Christ-generated, and Christ-focused. This is what matters. This is what is so important.  This is living life to the fullest. So help us, Lord, to make each day count.