Teach us to Number our Days

I was reflecting on Moses’ prayer in Psalm 90 yesterday and was pondering over his profound statement, “A thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.” (Psa. 90:4) The prophet had just begun describing the eternal greatness of God when he turned to contrast it with the short span of man’s existence. I pondered over verse four and tried to relate it with me and my own context.

I am not very good at Maths and so after struggling for a while, I took the help of my wife and together we attempted to calculate that if a thousand years is like one day to God, then the span of a man’s life—which Moses pegs at 70 or at best 80 years—would be 0.07 of a day to God. We converted this to hours and figured that by man’s standard of calculation, a total span of 70 years of man would roughly work out to about 90 minutes in God’s sight. I am just over 50 years so that leaves me with just about a score of years left. When translated to time in God’s sight, this works out to approximately 30 minutes. Judging however from all that is happening in the world around us and assessing it with all the prophesies that the Bible has given us, so that we might ascertain the season we are in; I feel that even 10 more years on this earth could be a luxury. Where does this leave me if I were to look at my years in God’s sight? Not more than 15 minutes.

Now these calculations are primitive and would be totally flawed; for God’s time is not calculated by our time and God’s realm is very, very different from our realm but the point we can heed to is that if a thousand years is like a day in God’s sight, then my years on earth are minutes to Him. Moses continues his prayer by highlighting man’s temporal nature. He writes, “You sweep people away in the sleep of death—they are like the new grass of the morning: In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.” (Psa. 90:5, 6 NIV) Isaiah corroborates this when he says, “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isa. 40:6-8) David associates man’s days by using a different allegory—a span of a hand (Psa. 39:5).

Nothing I have written is not known. We have probably read these verses several times and you can explain them better. The purpose of this writing however is to pray like Moses: Teach me to number my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom (Psa. 90:12). 

Give me a heart of understanding, dear Master, that I will walk each day in Thy path—for all Thy paths are life and peace (Rom. 8:6). I know that if with Thy help I am faithful to walk each day in paths of righteousness (Psa. 23:3), it will yield the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). At home with my family, at work with my colleagues, wherever I am Lord, let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. Thou didst teach us Lord Jesus that it is by this that the Father is glorified (Jn. 15:8). Thou didst warn us my Saviour that it’s not the prophesying in Thy name that counts but doing the will of the Father that matters (Mt. 7:21-23). Thou hast in no uncertain terms commanded us that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven—for the ‘doing’ must precede the ‘teaching’ (Mt. 5:19, 20). I appeal to Thee Oh Saviour—for You alone can rescue, You alone can save me from the various snares that are way-laid before me—deliver me from all evil (Mt. 6:13). 

Teach me to number my days, that I will live with the mind of a sojourner all my days on this earth (Heb. 11:9, 10) laying up for myself treasures in heaven (Mt. 6:19, 20) and not amassing riches on earth with the futility of not knowing who will gather them (Psa. 39:6). Give me a heart of wisdom dear Lord, the wisdom that is from above because Thy word teaches us that this wisdom is pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering and without hypocrisy (Jas. 3:17). With this wisdom, help me to seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness (Mt. 6:33) for Thou wilt satisfy me in the morning with Thy lovingkindness that I may sing for joy and be glad all my days (Psa. 90:14). Short as my days are, help me to set my mind on the things that are above where Christ is seated (Col. 3:2) knowing that in doing that, Thou will cause Thy favour to be upon me and will confirm for me the work of my hands (Psa. 90:17). Hear my cry Lord and in Thy faithfulness, answer my prayer. I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Trusting Hashem

It is important to note how vehement the Bible is on the aspect of trust in God. Jeremiah writes plainly and bluntly what God tells him: Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength; and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness; a land of salt without inhabitants (Jer. 17:5, 6). The Lord is equally forthright when He speaks through the prophet Isaiah saying, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help (Egypt is a metaphor for the world); and who rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord (Isa. 31:1). Both, our Lord Jesus and the writers of the New Testament were as emphatic on this aspect of trust in God too. If there is anything Jesus repeatedly rebuked, it was unbelief.

I wrote in an earlier piece titled, “The Righteous shall live by Faith”, that God has commanded us to depend on Him completely in every aspect of our life—not just for salvation and redemption but every aspect, be it our walk to live righteous and holy or our dependence on Him for our needs and life’s decisions. For He says again through Jeremiah, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose confidence is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit (Jer. 17:7, 8).

The problem with us Christians is that while we know how important it is to trust God, we are either too afraid to let go of our own conventional wisdom and logic that we have imbibed from the ways of the world or there is a lurking doubt that says, “What if I commit all my decisions in trust and obedience to God and nothing happens?” I believe it is a bit of both that brings hesitation to take the plunge into the waiting arms of our Father in heaven. We can shout from the rooftop that we serve a God whose love towards us in Christ Jesus is unfailing, unending, inseparable and immeasurable yet whimper excuses why we cannot trust God completely. We can proclaim at every Sunday service our trust in the only true, faithful, mighty and wise God but spend the rest of the week working with all the possible schemes and tricks we know to secure ourselves and our children.

I met a brother in Christ a few days ago and I listened as he shared with me his fears of rising costs; his concern of unaffordably high education fees for his children a few years down; and the eventual reason why he and his wife needed to work, despite the obvious attention the children required. I looked hard for something that he shared that showed me that there was a difference between what he said and what a person of the world says. Sadly, except for the cursory “I trust in God to help,” or “With God’s grace we are managing,” interspersed in the conversation now and then, I could not find a difference. It was plainly evident that though he said that he trusts in God, his trust was in mankind and his strategy was of the flesh and his strength; and like in the parable of the sower, the cares of the world and the decietfulness of riches was choking his trust in God and in His Word (Mt. 13:22).

A time may soon come when just as Pharaoh made life difficult for the Hebrews; or when Israel was plundered by the Assyrians and the Jews by the Babylonians; or when the Romans confiscated everything that belonged to the Christians; we too could be ‘victims’ of strange laws that may be introduced in the world. At that time, all our conventional plans and strategies will collapse. Yet the ones who have put their trust in the Lord will “not fear when the heat comes”.

However the real reason for this writing is to delve deeper. There is a trust that God is looking for that clings to Him so tightly—a trust that never leaves Him nor is dismayed or discouraged—that even when things do not work out the way we hope it should, we would still hold our confidence in this never-failing Hashem while all the time rejoicing in Him. Habakkuk conveys this kind of trust beautifully when he writes: Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines; though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food; though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls; yet I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation (Hab. 3:17, 18).

It is a trust in God that has learnt contentment while still being expectant. It is a trust that has learnt to surrender to God’s will while still knowing that because we have put our faith in Him, He will guide us into His best. It is a trust that recognises that though I have nothing in my control, I am safe because my God is in control. Paradoxical though it may appear, the truth is that I am in the best place I can possibly be. The eternal God is my refuge and underneath are His everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27).

A Relationship with God

While studying the Bible last evening, our Life Group leader dwelt on the aspect of relationship with God and the power of intercession. While drawing attention to the fact that a strong relationship with God always precedes effective, powerful intercession the passage that we focused on was on Abraham’s conversation with God (Gen. 18:16-33). At the end of the study, the Lord highlighted to my heart four critical elements that brought out the greatness of Abraham’s relationship with God—elements that we too would do well to pursue if we want to have a strong vibrant relationship with our heavenly Father while being effective intercessors before His Holy throne of mercy.

One of the first things we see in these verses is the friendship that Abraham enjoyed with God. So close was this friendship that the Lord asked, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Gen. 18:17) James refers to this friendship in his letter (Jas. 2:23). What is it that Abraham had that made him a friend of God? James connects this friendship with Abraham’s faith and his obedience to God as a result of that faith (Jas. 2:22). Our Lord Jesus said plainly, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (Jn. 15:14) So from these passages we understand that we too can be a friend of God if we have faith that trusts in and clings to God with exemplified lives—a faith that shows in our obedience to God’s will and His commands.

The second thing that comes through in the conversation between the Lord and the patriarch was his reverence for God. This aspect does not just come through once but repeatedly in verses 27, 30, 31 and 32. Though Abraham had a close friendship with God, he always kept before him the fact that he was talking to the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth. He knew that the One he was with was unlike any other. His friend was the Holy, Holy, Holy YHWH Tse’va’ot; the exalted, far above all else, eternal LORD GOD of angel armies and he was not going to treat that casually. 

Oh that we too may learn the importance of coming to God with reverence. Much too often I have seen people attend to phone calls at a prayer meeting; walk out of the room while God is speaking through His servants as they deliver His word; sip coffee while in the presence of God, singing songs of praise to Him who alone is worthy and worshiping Him who alone can receive glory. We would not do such things if we were with so-called high and important men in the world, say if we were with the President of a country, or a judge in the court, or our boss in the office—yet we have the audacity to take lightly the reverence that is due to the Most High God. I make a hundred little prayers each day to God. My mind is constantly on the things that are above where Christ is seated. Most times, even when brushing my teeth, I reflect on God and make short prayers of trust in Him. I don’t call that irreverence. But there is a place that we reserve as sacred space—and times of prayer or time with God and His word or times with the Church, the body of Christ are such sacred spaces. They are places where we expect God to meet with us and often His presence is noticeable. Shall we then stand in His presence irreverentially?

The third element that comes through in Abraham’s time with God was his attitude of always wanting to be in God’s presence. This man who was nearly a hundred years old just did not want to leave God. We first see this in Gen. 18:16 and then in Gen. 18:33. The Lord had just given Abraham a promise saying that “at the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Gen. 18:14) It was such a joyous moment for this couple. Finally after years of waiting, they now had a definite time from God. Abraham could have easily said goodbye to the Lord as they rose to leave, so that he could savour the good news of the promise with Sarah. But no! Abraham wanted to be with the Lord until the Lord left. Is our relationship with God so dear that we always linger with our Beloved? Brother Lawrence once said, “There is not in the world a way of life more sweet, more delightful than continual converse with God.” I desire this and ask that it would increase in me continually.

The fourth aspect that comes through in the passage in Genesis 18 is that Abraham knew the God he worshipped. He did not just know about God. He knew God. He knew God to be the Righteous One who would not slay the righteous with the wicked (Gen. 18:25a). He knew that the Judge of all the earth was just and that He would deal justly with all (Gen. 18:25b). He knew his God was a God full of mercy and overflowing with compassion. It was this knowledge that gave Him boldness to ‘negotiate’ with God. It was because he knew his God that Abraham could intercede with the Most High accordingly. His pleading for the salvation of men from God’s wrath revolved around the nature of God. Is there a lesson we too can learn from Abraham when we come before God as intercessors?

Only Thou can help us O God. Our eyes look to Thee for help to walk with Thee the way Abraham did. Lead us dear Father that our relationship with Thee would not only be strong, vibrant and very meaningful but that it would be a precursor to us being impactful intercessors before Thy throne.

The Righteous shall live by Faith

The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans, “For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’ ” (Rom. 1:17) In his letter to the Galatians, Paul’s focus rested squarely on just one factor—our faith in God through Christ Jesus. It was here that he made his classic declaration that most Christians know so well, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me.” (Gal. 2:20) As I reflected on this, the Lord reminded me strongly about the importance of making faith in God the very environment in which my relationship with Him must thrive—a faith that goes farther than calling on God only in times of difficulties. A faith that declares: “The life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God.”

Now such a decision is primarily radical. It affects us completely. In essence it simply means that everything about us—our life, our choices, our decisions, everything—is based on living in total dependence in the Son of God. I wrote last week in an epistle titled, ‘Power perfected in weakness’, on the importance of making God our only Source. If God is all I have then that is sufficient for me, for in Him is everything I need. I have in part strived to make this true in me and I can witness of God’s grace—I have not been disappointed. Faithful and true is the God we serve. When we seek His face with the cry, “You alone are all I need Lord. No one can satisfy me the way You can,” then God not only attentively listens to this cry but He is delighted to answer.

Now Paul’s letter to the Galatians primarily deals with faith in respect to our legal standing with God through Christ Jesus. For through faith in the cross of Jesus, we have been forgiven. By our faith in the power of the blood of our Saviour, we are cleansed of all sin (1Jn. 1:9). It is because of our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection that we are redeemed from the kingdom of darkness and have been transferred to the kingdom of His glorious light (Col. 1:13). Because of our faith in Jesus, we are sons of God (Gal. 3:26), made righteous and holy to draw near to the One who alone dwells in unapproachable light. By faith and not by sight we believe that our hope of being clothed with an imperishable body at the coming of Jesus (2Cor. 5:4, 7); and then spending eternity with Him is as real as the earth and everything around us. 

Yet in the gospel, our faith must go deeper. We know that God has chosen us in Christ Jesus to walk holy (or set apart) and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4). That the life we now live, we live no longer for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf (2Cor. 5:15). Having been sanctified as a new creation in Jesus, we live each day presenting the members of our body—our tongue, our eyes, our mind; yes, our whole being—as instruments of righteousness to God (Rom. 6:13). When we desire to live such a life on a daily basis, we soon realize that the good that we wish, we do not do; but we practice the very evil that we do not wish (Rom. 7:19). At home with the family; at work with our colleagues; on crowded trains and busy streets; almost every time, every day we find how strong our flesh is. Impatience, pride, rude talk, insensitive attitudes—oh how these temptations come toward us from all sides. 

When I was younger and new in my relationship with God, I would struggle with trying in my own strength to live a life pleasing to God. Yet the Lord has called us to a life that depends on Him for strength and power and wisdom so that by His grace we can live a life as an overcomer—a life that shines like a light wherever we are, that the world may see our behaviour (the fruit of the Spirit) and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Mt. 5:16). Recognizing our own weakness, we cry, “Rescue me O Saviour for you alone can save. Deliver me from all evil and the sin that can so easily ensnare. I look to you who can keep me from stumbling.” Such faith, such dependence on God, for strength and victory, on a daily basis is what God is looking for in us. In doing so, we are not disappointed, for faithful as He is, our witness is that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Php. 4:13).

There is a third aspect of faith—a faith that we are all too familiar with—one that depends on God for help with the situations of life that we face, be it in health or finances or relationships. Such a faith needs to be anchored in the love that Christ has for us—an anchor so firmly rooted and grounded that come what may, we are not shaken. Through all the stormy waters, our life is not tossed here and there by waves and strong winds but like the Apostle, we too proclaim, “I know whom I have believed in.” (2Tim. 1:12) This is where the knowledge of the Holy One helps us greatly. If only we meditate on Him and His word, our faithful Father is ever so glad to reveal Himself to us. We then no longer depend on the world by putting our trust in the power of money or position, but rather on God who alone is dependable and trustworthy.

Sadly, of the three aspects that I listed above—our legal standing with God; our faithful, righteous walk with Him; and our needs which we place before Him—we place the third first and the first last. We have upturned the entire order of relationship and have made our dependence on God for our earthly needs the main focus of our covenant. It occupies the maximum attention of our prayer life. It has turned topsy-turvy the whole essence of our association with God. Is it any wonder then that the Church feels like an eagle with a broken wing, powerless and hardly effective? Is it startling when we see that the Church today is so very different from the Church of the first century?          

God desires that the life that we now live, we must live by faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20). He desires that every part of our being and all our decisions reflect our trust in the Son. A hundred little prayers can rise up to Him each day, regardless of where we are—while walking on the street, or on our way to work, or even while brushing our teeth. We can be assured that each prayer catches His attention. It pleases Him. 

Now our Lord says without ambiguity, “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” (Heb. 10:37, 38). May God help us to be full of faith in Him and not lose heart. We will never regret.

My Father and your Father; My God and your God

When the resurrected Christ met Mary Magdalene outside the tomb, He said to her, “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ” (Jn. 20:17) This one brief announcement is loaded with precious and magnificent promises (2Pet. 1:4) that can impact our lives greatly. Nothing I write here is new. We would all have known of these things beforehand. Yet I ask you to be patient with me for I believe that familiarity deceitfully compels us to take things for granted. We cease to value the greatness of things that we have heard, and heard so often. May the Holy Spirit use this brief writing to give deeper insight and understanding into the person of God so that we may rejoice in its significance for us.

The book of Isaiah provides us with a glimpse of what the prophet saw in his vision. He writes, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him …and one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:1-3) The book of Revelation provides us with a similar glimpse where the four living creatures never cease to say the same thing (Rev. 4:8). I now lament at how the English language has not been successful in bringing out the glory of these few but profound words of worship. I am no scholar in Hebrew but bear with me as I share with you what God taught me of His glory. 

The text I am to focus on is: Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh YHWH tse'va'ot. 

God is Holy! Unspeakably holy! Inexpressibly holy! The meaning of this Hebrew word ‘Kadosh’ is: utterly unique, distinct, sacred and set apart as the only One of its kind. He alone is Creator. Everything else that exists is made and has a beginning. It is no wonder that He is also called the Most High. Do not pass this by with haste, my dear reader, for as we reflect on this word, God can give us insight to understand that He is not just Holy. He is Holy, Holy, Holy!

The next part of that worshipful phrase is literally YHWH tse'va'ot which can be translated in English as: The eternal God of hosts. The great I AM; the One who was, and who is, and who is to come (Rev. 1:8); the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Rev. 22:13); the everlasting One; is also the Commander of the myriads of angels. The Bible tells us that the number of them is myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (Rev. 5:11). It is another thing that the God-fearing Jews trembled at uttering the awesome name of God and replaced the tetragrammaton, YHWH with Adonai, Elohim or what we read in our English versions as LORD GOD (in capitals). One Bible version has sadly translated YHWH tse'va'ot as “LORD Almighty”. David as a young lad understood these two words and could say with boldness to the giant, “I come to you in the name of YHWH tse'va'ot, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.” (1Sam. 17:45)

Over the past two weeks the Lord has been impressing upon my heart the glory of His majesty. The more I meditated on the words of this worship, the more I was in awe at the God I serve. My God is the set apart, High above all else Creator. There is none higher than Him. He is the eternal, sovereign, powerful King over the angel armies; over heaven; and over earth and everything in it. Through Jesus Christ, this Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh YHWH tse'va'ot is not just the God of my Saviour; He is now my God. He is with me. He is on my side—just like He was with Abraham and Moses and Joshua and David and Elijah and with Israel in their conquests.

Through Jesus Christ, this awesome God is also my Father. Every attribute of this majestic One is directed towards me as “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3). This self-existent God chose me in Christ before even the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). This eternal God who knew me, my follies and my rebellious ways before I was even born, never gave up on me but reconciled me to Himself (Eph. 2:12, 13) and restored me to life’s fullness and purpose (Jn. 10:10). Through Jesus this Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh YHWH tse'va'ot cares for me more than I can ever imagine (Psa. 139:17, 18; Jer. 29:11). He loves me with a love that is not only everlasting, but it is also unfailing and boundless. He assures my heart that there is nothing that can separate me from this love He has for me (Rom. 8:38, 39). His perfect, flawless wisdom is ever willing to hold my hand and guide my steps—sometimes beside quiet streams and green pastures; and sometimes through the valley of the shadow of death. His faithfulness causes me to rest in the fact that my God is true. He never changes. Everything around me may fail but what He has said can never fail. The Holy Spirit who dwells in me causes me to wait with longing for the hope of spending eternity with my God and Father. He convicts me to live righteous and God-fearing; set apart from the evil ways of the world and those that I once walked in. Thanks to Jesus, He is not only the Messiah’s Father, He is my Father too. 

Oh that God may open the eyes of our heart to know the hope of His calling; the riches of His magnificence and glory; and the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. I doubt we will ever be the same.