By: Andrew Pilley
I have many times felt that my life is my own. I have been gifted with this life and can therefore do with it as I please. I was fortunate enough to be born into a family with Christian parents and therefore grew up learning about Jesus and that He died on the cross for my sins and what that means. Therefore, at a young age, I accepted Jesus into my life. Despite the act of giving my life to God, I still believed it was my life to live. Believing in Jesus and what He did for me was enough. There was nothing more I needed to do, other than believe in Him and what He did, and then I could go on living my life the way I saw fit, within the parameters of right and wrong of course. It is only as time has passed that I have realised this is not how Jesus expects me to live.
In Psalm 90:12 in the NIV, Moses asks God, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
When we are in our youth, we feel that we are almost invincible, death is far away and cannot touch us. As we get older, we start to realise that this is not the truth. That our days are numbered, we are only on earth for a short period of time. That the time God has given us on this earth is short and is to be used wisely.
How does this look? What does it mean to learn how to number our days?
It is easy to allocate numbers and values to most things in our lives. We know how much money we have (or don’t have), what our car is worth, how old we are…but, it is not so easy, or rather impossible, to know how many days we have left on this earth. Only God knows this. But why is this important? Why did Moses ask God to learn to number his days? I believe, it is because God wants us to learn to depend on Him, to live within the plans He has for us. To not just live as though our days are infinite or that we can do whatever we want to do today because, there is always tomorrow. To learn that our lives are not our own, but that we have given them to Jesus, to use for His purpose. That while we are on earth, in the short time we have been given, that we learn to listen to God speaking to us and what He sees for our lives, that we live our life to the fullest for His purpose, to further His plan for our lives and His kingdom. Also, more importantly, that we learn to do this with a heart of wisdom.
What does it mean then to gain a heart of wisdom? Worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom are very different. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, worldly wisdom is, ‘experience, knowledge and good judgement in the practical and social aspects of life.’ According to James 3:15, such (worldly) “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. Whereas Godly wisdom …comes from heaven, is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17). Worldly wisdom is a matter of searching for our own happiness and gratifying ourselves, whereas Godly wisdom is searching God’s will for our lives and learning to act in accordance with God’s will.
To seek Godly wisdom was always something that my father sought after in his life. It was of such importance to him to not be wise in eyes of the world but rather to be wise in the eyes of God. This is definitely something that I want for my life as well. I don’t know about you though, as much as I seek to be wise in God’s eyes, there are things that have prevented me from this. It is almost as if I have only allowed God into certain boxes or areas in my life. He can be allowed fully in this box, but only a portion in this box and not in this box at all. It is honestly my way of trying to keep hold of some sort of personal control in my life. Only giving God bits and pieces but trying to control the rest of my life myself. That is not wise. It is definitely not living life to the fullest in all that God has for me. It is time to let go, to give full control to God, to live out the rest of my numbered days wisely, the way God intended.
In closing, there are a few key points to take out of the above:
Your time belongs to Jesus. You can no longer do as you please with your life, for you have laid it down at the foot of the cross. This sounds like slavery, but as we have been learning in Church recently, it is the ultimate freedom. We need to stop thinking in human terms and start thinking in God’s terms. What He has for you is beyond anything that you could ever imagine. I believe life would be radically different if I lived day to day by just listening to what God was telling me to do and then actually doing it.
Our days are not infinite, and oh boy how time flies. There is no time like the present to start seeking all that God has planned for you and to start living it out.
Seek Godly wisdom every day. The bible says in Proverbs 1:20 that wisdom shouts in the street, she raises her voice in the market. If you can learn to quiet the noise of your daily life, drown out all the “wise” things that the world offers you and be willing to listen, you will hear God’s wisdom.