Day 222 - Teach Me To Number My Days

"To the world you might be one person...

But to one person, you might be the world."

Author Unknown

My time on earth is short. If I live my life for fleshly desires -- new vehicles, modern home, fancy attire, fancy title -- I have not lived a life worthy of being called "Christian."

"Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom," says Psalm 90:12.

"Lord make me to know my end and what is the number of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, the number of my days is small like the size of my hand. My age is as nothing before you. Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor." Psalm 39: 4-6

The Bible also states that life is like a shadow that is only temporary. As well, the Bible states that life is like a flower that flourishes...and then quickly withers and fades away.

I think most of the time, we forget that life is short. In our childhood, waiting for our next birthday seems to take eons. When we are in our 20s, we feel as if we have our whole lives before us. We live for the here and the now. Around 40, we suddenly realize that our lives are nearly half over. And as we grow even older, we realize how fleeting our life has been.

When we understand that life is short, we become wiser people. We view life and its issues more clearly. We have a better perspective. We invest our time and energy more wisely. This thinking causes us to carefully choose how we are going to live out the remainder of our days.

As for me, I want to impact people for Christ with the time that I have left. Whether I reach one or twenty-one, I want God to reach inside my soul and pull out all of the dead and useless parts and fill it up with His Spirit so that I may love others with Christ's love, reach out to others as Christ did, and be used as God's hands and feet on this earth.

Because we only have one life to live on this earth, we need to have a vision. Charles Spurgeon said, "You will not be a very good captain if you do not know what port you are sailing for." The same is true for my life. I must have a vision.

Where am I sailing? Where am I going? I don't want to just drift along in life...I want to have a clear plan of action, a concrete destination.

1 Peter 4:2 says, "that he should no longer live the rest of his life for the flesh full of lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our lifetime in doing the will of the godless."

Lord, please give me a sense of direction for the next 40 years of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.