“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
—Psalm 90:12
THE WORD of God teaches that our life upon this earth is a short duration. James tells us that our life is like a vapor, which is here today and gone tomorrow (James 4:14). We read in 1 Peter 1:24-25, “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.” Considering these texts, is it any wonder that the psalmist asks the Lord to teach him to number his days? The psalmist wants the Lord to teach him how brief and fragile his life is upon this earth, and how his life is to be lived for the glory of the Lord and not simply for pursuing earthly treasures and pleasures.
AGAIN, THE psalmist declares, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). When a believer realizes the brevity of life he then begins to live wisely because he understands the Lord has given him only so much time to live for God’s glory and the good of humanity.
DO YOU really understand the brevity of your life? Does your life show a heart of wisdom in living for God’s glory? Scripture tells us that we are fragile, brittle, delicate people who live moment by moment by the goodness and power of God. Nothing else keeps our heart pumping and our lungs breathing but the goodness and power of God. “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God “upholds all things by the Word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Knowing the truth that our lives are like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow, teaches us our place before God and how we ought to live before Him. Therefore, let the words of Psalm 90:12 always remain upon our lips as we move about in this troubled life. “So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Friday Devotional: February 6, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
