Psalm 90 is about time, and more importantly, it is about what we need to do with our time. In the Psalm, we are reminded of God’s eternal existence and our seemingly insignificant blip on His timeline. No time management course will change reality. In verse 2 it states, “Before the mountains were born, or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God”. The descriptive names of God used throughout Psalm 90 include the concepts of God being eternal, almighty, and great. The writer describes man’s existence to grass growing in the desert. The early reader of this Psalm knew that in one day, from dawn to dusk, grass could bloom, grow and wither. The message is clear that our time, in relation to God’s time, is short; seventy or maybe 80 years at most and unfortunately, many spend those years worrying about the next day.
We can’t control time because we don’t really know how much time we have left. We are in control of nothing and we need to ask God to teach us how to use time wisely. God is in control of time, and so we need to ask Him to teach us how to properly apply the time that we have so as to gain an understanding of His wisdom. The wisdom that He has chosen to share with us through His word. The wisdom revealed to us when we study the knowledge that is found in the bible. We know that before we were born, before Adam and Eve fell, and before the earth was formed, God was and so was the Word. And, the wisdom of the Word is: when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s plan will be realized, and we will share days eternal with God Almighty.
In Luke 12 Jesus tells the parable of the foolish rich man who put a plan into action to gain more wealth for his future. The man tears down what he already has built, so he can rebuild to get more. Jesus reminds us in this story that the problem with trying to plan our time that it is not ours to plan. When we tear down the barns we already own, to follow a plan focused on building some legacy to God, we forget we do this on gifted time.
The problem with thinking that we can control time is, we get into a habit of thinking we will always have more.
We do not use our days wisely because “we think we have tomorrow”. We’d rather watch a ball game than read our bible or pray because “we think we’ll do those things tomorrow”. We don’t spend time with our family because “we think we have tomorrow”. We try to remain part of the world and enjoy it as long as we can because “we think we can join God’s world tomorrow”. We put off giving all to Christ today because “we think we can keep some control now and give the rest tomorrow”. Some put off repenting and accepting the Lord today because “they think they will have more tomorrows to change”.
James 4:14 says, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”.
Before time is up, look up and ask God “teach me O God to number my days aright, that I may gain a heart of wisdom”.