Day 55, Year 1

Retrospect to and Anticipate Life

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

Yesterday, I mentioned believers can view our current difficulties through a new spiritual lens and regain strength from Him when we understand that we are being disciplined by God. Thus, we might gain divine wisdom through accurately interpreting our experiences and discerning God’s will in the process.

The word “number” in today’s verse, manah in Hebrew, also means “count, assign, or appoint.” The word “day” in Hebrew, yom, also means “time, a division of time, period, year, or lifetime.” Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, the man of God, and it is believed to have been written in his old age. He noted the brevity of human life, in which seventy or eighty years pass swiftly. Particularly for those Israelites who did not obey God’s words and died in the wilderness, life was fading. But in the short life, Moses’ prayer was to ask God to show His people how to number and prepare their days, so that they could gain a heart of wisdom. The essence of this verse is understanding the past and different stages of life to make good use of the present moments.

Applying what was mentioned previously, understanding various stages of life that we have gone through—whether it involves foolish or evil deeds, days of discipline by God, or days of turning away from evil ways and returning to Him—understanding and reflecting on all of these could bring wisdom. This reflection could help us move away from rebellion and folly, and assist us to walk on God’s path of wisdom. Hence, the discussion in the following days would occasionally mention how we could reflect on the past, how to pray and adjust our thinking so as to gain wisdom.

Consider the evil that people commit when they are foolish. They miss out on God’s blessings since they do not realize that evil brings actual harm to them and others. Meanwhile, we gained insights through exploring why we are foolish. Subsequently, we ask the Lord Jesus to change us from the root of our hearts—some might stem from childhood mistakes, some might be generational deposits or curses, and some might be under the influence of others. If we have missed out, we could ask God for wisdom so we would not make the same mistakes. Then, we could anticipate a brighter future in Him after ongoing repentance until no repentance is needed.

Reflection questions:

1) Are there any unresolved mysteries in your past? If yes, how would you thoroughly understand them with the help and illumination from God?

2) What might be God’s will behind some of your experiences that you struggle to comprehend? And how would you know them accurately?