It’s December? What happened to the rest of the year? Did we skip it? It seems to me that the older I get, the shorter the years become. I thought of this as I read Psalm 90 this morning. Here are some of the verses that stood out to me:
“For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past.” (verse 4)
“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.” (verse 10)
I could get depressed thinking about the shortness of life, but verse 12 has a better idea:
“So teach me to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
There are many ways to “number our days:” How much money did I make? What was my top score in Super Mario? How popular was I? I might even wonder how many people came to my funeral. But I don’t think that any of these are “the heart of wisdom.” The Psalm ends with these words:
“Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of your hands upon us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands!” (verses 16-17)