So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90: 12, NKJV
Dear God, we thank You for another day of life; another opportunity to “get it right.” So please hold our hands as we step out into the great unknown of the year 2014. In the name of Your Son and our Savior Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen.
I am almost certain that you have heard the saying: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” This is usually followed by a statement encouraging us to do something positive with our lives. I believe it is a good way to look toward the new year. We do not know what it holds, but we can choose to make the best of it. After all, that is what life is about, ultimately, making choices.
We had to choose to get out of bed this morning. Unless you are a child and mom or someone else is in charge of you, you chose the hour you would get up and what you would do with the rest of your day. You chose to take a bath or not. You chose to have breakfast or not. You chose the clothes you would wear, and how you would comb your hair. Even if you were not aware of it, you were also choosing the results of your choices, because our choices create consequences.
This Psalm, from which our text for today is taken was written by Moses. I describe it, as a psalm of reflection. It is really a prayer. Moses is reflecting upon the greatness of God in comparison with the frailty of human beings. Then he pauses and asks God to give him wisdom (“Teach me Lord!”) to recognize how fleeting life is, and then to spend the rest of his days living with a purpose.
I have often said, it is not the quantity of my days that is important, but the quality. Have I learned from my mistakes? Am I better because of my trials and pain? Have I grown? As I begin this new year, my prayer is patterned after the prayer of Moses the man of God, “that [I] may gain a heart of wisdom.”
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” What are your plans? Can I suggest that we ask God for His wisdom to choose well – how we will spend the rest of our lives? Have a blessed and wisdom-filled New Year!