And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalms 90:17
This Psalm is a prayer of Moses the man of God. Moses had such a close, unique relationship with the Lord, the Word tells us in Exodus chapter thirty-three that He would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend. When the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone (with His finger no less!) it was Moses that was there to receive them and bring them down the mountain to the people. This happened twice since Moses threw down the first set of tablets and broke them, so God made him a new set. To say the least, the Lord had a special plan for Moses’ life.
In this prayer, Moses acknowledges the brevity of life, using references we find elsewhere as well — our life is like grass that grows up and then it is cut down. It is like a watch in the night; coming and going before you even realize it. Indeed, time passes quickly and is gone. So, Moses asks in his prayer for a heart of wisdom, to be aware of how quickly time passes and the importance of making the most of the time we have.
As Moses is aware (and we must be also), the only way to rejoice and be glad all of our days is to partake of God’s mercy. If you try to get satisfaction out of this life apart from the Lord you will find it full of sorrow, for true joy comes only in God’s presence.
And what about the work of your hands? Even if you acknowledge that your days on earth are numbered, it is still possible to fill your life with pursuits that, in the end, will not benefit you. It’s kind of like building a beautiful sand castle by the ocean. It does not matter how intricate the details or how many hours of work went into its construction. It does not matter how much it means to you or how important it is to you. It could be your greatest accomplishment; your life’s work. In the end, the waves will wash it all away.
At first glance, you may think that this is all very obvious and you would never put so much stock in something so fleeting, yet Jesus told a parable about building houses on sand instead of building on the solid rock. Into each life some rain will fall. There will be storms and strong winds from time to time. All of this is the result of living in a world that has known and knows still the effects of evil; of disobedience to God and His Word.
Moses asked for the Lord to teach him to number his days not just to know that his days were numbered, but that he could gain a heart of wisdom. Let this be your prayer today: to seek a heart of wisdom, to understand that this life is indeed finite and what you do with that time God entrusts to you matters. You do not want to look back over your life and see a bunch of pretty sand castles being swept out to sea, a life full of accomplishments that have a built-in expiration date.
Instead, pray as Moses did in his day, “Father, I don’t want my life to be about me but about You; let your beauty be upon me and shine through me. And Lord, let me not depend on my own strength or wisdom. God, I pray that You would establish the work of my hands.”
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