Thursday, January 2, 2014

Day 9: Psalm 90:12 Lord, Help Us Count Our Days--Even Through the Tough Stuff of Life

I’ve seen the day when my second cousin was shot and murdered and ended up being a nationally televised news story. I’ve helped support someone from Columbine. I had a friend commit suicide. I’ve had a friend skid of an icy road and fall from a large cliff in his car. I’ve experienced the deaths of family and friends. I’ve had times where I’ve received a call. I’ve also received times when someone has said, “We need to talk.” I’ve made many, many mistakes in my life and I deserve death (See Romans 6:23) because of them—and for the ones I will surely make in the future, no matter how hard I try to avoid them.

I know how difficult life can be.

I say all of that, and more today, not to bring attention to myself. (No! Anything but that.) Rather, I do it to make this point as strong as it should be and needs to be:

It’s important to make each and every day count, for it is a sacred one and is a gift of God. It’s part of His purpose.

That’s what this new year and new beginning are about. It’s about making every single moment in our lives count to the fullest and be intentional about this.

It’s important to make every moment count, the good, the bad, the indifferent.

It’s important to make every moment count and sty smack dab in the middle of the will of God.

Let’s look at some verses which should help us know what to pray and how to pray for the next year and our new beginning. With each verse listed after this section, prayer journal these 8 things about EACH version of this verse:

1 What jumped out at you and why?

2 What did you learn from this verse?

3 How did this verse differ from the others and how does that difference deepen your understanding of the verse?

4 What did God say to you through this verse?

5 What does this verse mean to you and your life today, this week, this month, this quarter, this year, etc.?

6 How will you apply this verse to your life from now on? Make an action plan.

7 Write out a summary of everything that you’ve learned and what jumps out at you most from your journaling and from the different versions of this verse, Psalm 90:12.

8 Pick a version you want to start to memorize of that verse and add it to your verses you are already memorizing: Philippians 4:4-8 and now Psalm 90:12.

Psalm 90:12 HCSB

12 Teach us to number our days carefully

so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

--HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Psalm 90:12 NLT

12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life,

so that we may grow in wisdom.

-- NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Psalm 90:12 NASB

12 So teach us to number our days,

That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12 EXB

12 ·Teach us [Make us know] ·how short our lives really are [to count our days]

so that we ·may be wise [gain a wise heart].

EVEN COUNTING THE TOUGH STUFF OF LIFE FOR THE GOOD

This past year has been a difficult one, but a very blessed one as well, for my husband and me. We wouldn’t trade the difficulties for anything. After all, the challenging times bring us to the path where we can choose growing in faith or despising it. Thank God, we both have decided to allow it to grow us—even during the times that were the hardest to trust, when things just didn’t make sense, and we hurt so much.

There are times in life when we don’t think we can make it another stop. We wonder what in the world God is doing and why. We might wonder how we are going to get through it. Those are the times to stop questioning, stop fighting God, and just trust. Trust Him even when it doesn’t make sense and when it hurts so much. Don’t dig your heels in, rather put know that the only reason you made it to this next second is because He is holding you upright. You might be on your rear, but you’re not on your back. You might be on your knees, but you are still more upright than not.

Faith is not always about seeing.

Nor is it about feeling.

And it’s rarely about understanding (but, that will come in time).

What true, deep faith is about relying on God. Nothing more. Nothing less. (Hebrews 11:1).

Another beautiful thing about the tough stuff of life is how it develops character. We learn who we truly are. Even if we do not like what we see, it’s a beautiful thing. After all, we at least then know what we can change and how that will make another difference in our lives. Also, it means we rely on God that much more.

A LITTLE REMINDER…

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them.

They are:

-- Philippians 4:4-8

-- Psalm 90:12.

KEY QUOTE FROM THE CHAPTER

-- It’s important to make each and every day count, for it is a sacred one and is a gift of God. It’s part of His purpose.

-- Faith is not always about seeing.

Nor is it about feeling.

And it’s rarely about understanding (but, that will come in time).

What true, deep faith is about relying on God. Nothing more. Nothing less. (Hebrews 11:1).

SELAH. PAUSE.

Selah. Pause.

Do not press forward for a moment.

Savor the moment instead.

Listen to God and stop speaking.

Pause. Rest.

Thursday, January 2, 2014