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

We don’t know when Moses wrote Psalm 90, but it was probably sometime after he led the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Therefore, he was between 80 and 120 years old. He wrote it from the perspective of an old man who had experienced much good and bad. He was also aware of life’s brevity.

“You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.” (Psalm 90:5–6, NLT)

When we are young, we think we will live forever—or at least a long, long time. But as we grow older we outlive many of the people we knew when we were younger. We realize how quickly life goes by. Moses compared our lifespan to a grass blade. It spouts in the morning and is dry and withered in the evening. Over forty years, Moses watched the entire generation of adults (twenty years old and above) die in the wilderness. They were consumed by God’s anger because of their unbelief and disobedience.

Therefore, Moses prayed that God would teach them to number their days—that is to realize that time is limited and to make good use of it. Once time is lost, it can never be regained. And yet we waste it so easily. How many years of our lives have been spent watching TV or “browsing” on our phones?

We each have the same number of hours each day. How are we using them?

Sometimes I log all my activities in a day. It is shocking to see how much time goes by unaccounted for or is spent on unnecessary things! My purpose is to more effectively manage the limited time I have been given.

Moses lived to be 120 years old, yet these years disappeared like a dream when one awakes. What can you do today to make your hours and minutes count for something worthwhile?