February 3
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom,” Psalm 90:12.
The author of Psalm 90 was Moses. In the verse quoted above, he asks us to remember that our days and years are numbered – we should never forget it. Our life on earth is very brief. This thought is emphasized several times in the psalm: “We finish our years like a sigh,” Psalm 90:9; “(Our years are) soon cut off and we fly away,” Psalm 90:10. In essence, Moses was writing about death and the end of this life.
This is something that many people do not like to think or talk about. However, death is real, and it will come to each of us. So what is the wise thing to do? The wise thing to do is to prepare for that day. The Lord would remind each of us to set our spiritual house in order, as the prophet Isaiah said to king Hezekiah: “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live,” 2 Kings 20:1. Hezekiah was lying on his bed; he turned his face toward the wall and wept bitterly. God heard and answered his prayer, and informed him that his life would be extended for another 15 years! Hezekiah was taught to number his days. He did the wise thing; he was prepared.
How should you and I prepare for our final day on earth? We should live each day as if it were our last. Be prepared through faith in the way to eternal life. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and you have God’s promise, “You will be saved,” Acts 16:31. Remember what Jesus told His troubled disciples after He had informed them what was going to happen to Him when He was on His way to Jerusalem. He said to them, “‘Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,’” John 14:1-6. Put your faith and trust in Jesus as the Son of God and your only Savior. Then you are prepared for your dying day.
For your comfort and the strengthening of your faith, turn to the words written by Martin Luther in his explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.”
Pray in the words of the hymn writer:
“By grace! This ground of faith is certain;
So long as God is true, it stands.
What saints have penned by inspiration,
What in His Word our God commands,
What our whole faith must rest upon,
Is grace alone, grace in His Son.
By grace! On this I’ll rest when dying,
In Jesus’ promise I rejoice;
For though I know my heart’s condition,
I also know my Savior’s voice.
My heart is glad, all grief has flown,
Since I am saved by grace alone.” Amen.