Life moves fast—faster than we realize. One moment we’re planning for tomorrow, next year, or retirement, and the next we’re reminded just how fragile our existence really is.
In Psalm 90, Moses reflects on the greatness of God and the brevity of human life, concluding with a prayer that still speaks powerfully today:
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
An Eternal God and a Temporary People
Moses begins by reminding us who God is: everlasting to everlasting. To Him, a thousand years are like a day—like a few hours in the night. But humanity is different. Our lives are short. Fragile. Fleeting.
Seventy years, maybe eighty if strength allows—and even then, Moses says, life is filled with labor and sorrow. It comes quickly, and then it is gone.
To “number our days” does not mean predicting the date of our death. It means living with the clear awareness that our time is limited and that judgment is certain. Every one of us will leave this world. The question is not if, but when—and whether we are prepared.
When Life Gets Serious
Scripture repeatedly shows that clarity often comes when death feels near.
King Hezekiah was told, “Set your house in order, for you shall die.” Though he had walked faithfully with God, he wept bitterly. Life suddenly became serious. Priorities sharpened. Eternity moved from theory to reality.
Solomon echoes this truth when he writes that it is better to go to a house of mourning than a house of feasting—not because funerals are pleasant, but because they force us to face our own mortality. Death has a way of waking us up.
Most of us don’t like thinking about death. But Moses teaches us that wisdom begins when we do.
Lessons From the Days of Noah
In Noah’s time, people lived extraordinarily long lives. With centuries ahead of them, urgency disappeared. Repentance was delayed. Warnings were dismissed.
Jesus explains what went wrong:
“They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage… and did not know until the flood came and took them all away.”
Life felt normal—comfortable—even as judgment drew near. They ignored the warning until it was too late.
The danger is not ignorance. It is indifference.
Awake, Not Asleep
Paul warns Christians not to sleepwalk through life:
“Awake, you who sleep… walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Life is uncertain. This world is dangerous. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow.
Numbering our days means living alert—awake to spiritual reality, attentive to how we use our time, and intentional about obedience today, not later.
What Changes When We Live This Way?
If we truly believed our days were few:
- Prayer would become urgent and sincere, not routine.
- Gratitude would replace entitlement.
- God’s Word would become precious, not optional.
- Worship would be intentional, not distracted.
- Self-examination would be welcomed, not resented.
- Repentance would not be delayed.
Many people wait until life becomes critical—until a terminal diagnosis or a near-death experience—before making changes they could have made all along.
But we don’t have to wait.
“Almost” Is Not Enough
King Agrippa listened to Paul preach the gospel and responded, “Almost you persuade me to become a Christian.”
Almost.
Scripture shows that many people understand the truth, believe the facts, and feel conviction—but hesitate because repentance costs something. Jesus cannot be Savior without also being Lord.
The gospel does not require us to know everything. It requires us to know enough:
- What sin is
- That Jesus is the Son of God
- Why He died and rose again
- What repentance means
- Why baptism matters
If we know these things, we know enough to respond.
Life Is a Vapor
James reminds us how fragile our plans really are:
“What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
We are not in control of how long we live. God is.
Plans are not wrong—but arrogance is. Wisdom says, “If the Lord wills.”
The Question We Must Answer
Every person will die.
Every person will face judgment.
Every person has this moment.
Numbering our days means taking life seriously now—not when it’s convenient, not when it’s comfortable, and not when time is nearly gone.
The question is simple, but searching:
Are you ready to die?
If not, today is the day to change that.