Making the Day Count

01.30.15

Psalm 90 11-12 11 Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. – Moses (ESV)

God’s wrath is mysterious to me. It is not a bursting forth in anger, nor is it reactionary. God never reacts to anything. But what God seems to do in His wrath and anger is to remove His hand. That’s frightening. Imagine a world today in which God removes His hand of order, protection, or wisdom. Imagine a world where parents simply let their children run wild with no exercise of discipline or restraint – that’s a picture of wrath. Imagine a world in which God turns His back and says, “Have at it…” That’s not a pretty thought.

Moses understood this. Moses understood how important it was to have God ever-present in all we do because God’s absence is terrifying. And so, Moses prayed. Moses asked God to teach us (them) to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Moses asked God: Lord, rather than suffer the consequences of Your wrath, would You just help us to make every day count!?

God desires that we make our days count. God desires that we live orderly and productive lives in the light and presence of His leadership and counsel. God desires that we give every dollar a name and give every minute a purpose. (I stole that from Zig Ziglar who probably stole it from somebody else…) Moses prayed, Lord, help us to number our days to make our days count.

Are our days worth something? What is the real worth of a day? How can you and I live so that we contribute to orderliness and productivity? Is it always about the bottom line, or is there something else to making our days count? What then will we tell God about our days when we stand before Him to give an account? Moses asked for help – we ought to do the same.

Personally, I think every person ought to own a business of some kind. I think every person ought to engage in some endeavor in which to make a living and make their days count. I do think life is more than consumerism and ascending the peak of leisure. I do think life is about hard work (not hard labor) and producing something. But, I think we think about life differently when we take on something that all of a sudden makes life bigger than us. What is the worth of a day? What is the worth of a life?

Today, I want to make my life count. I want to make it count peacefully, productively, and purposefully. Today I want to worship God by making the day count and to perhaps number it in the pile of days on the plus side. I can only accomplish that by living in the light of God’s peace, presence, and purpose. And no, even in this, it’s not about the bottom line…

Father, You have blessed me with this day – may I make it count for You. May I make it count in this world and in the lives of others. May I live this day working to respect Your wrath but also to remember Your love and Your pity on creatures such as me – broken and fallen. Father, make my life count and make my days a contribution to all that is right and good and fair. Amen.