Daily Devotion – November 11, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12
90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
90:3 You turn us back to dust, and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.
90:5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;
90:6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
90:7 For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
90:8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
90:9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh.
90:10 The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
90:11 Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
90:12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
So here is a picture containing perspective.
God is very very old, very very big, and very very powerful.
Really really old and big and powerful.
We are the opposite: young, small, weak. Perishable in the face of God’s immortality.
And Verse 11 says it well: We have reason, given all these things, to fear God.
So what should we do about all this? Verse 12 tells us. “So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.”
It could have said “Cower in fear.”
Or “Repent and go live in a cave beyond temptation.”
Or even “Go live at the temple and offer sacrifices day and night to atone for your many sins.”
But instead it tells us to wise up. Know that we are only mortals. Our lifespan is finite.
Know that we are not God by a long shot. But we are given time to be in this world and in this life to make it better. Give us a wise heart, oh God. Wise so we know our place in the universe and so that we might understand how to live with our neighbors.
Lord God of all power and might, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for teaching us what our place is in the universe and encouraging us to be wise with our time and the other gifts that you give us. We are but specks in the cosmos, but we can act with our time and our talents in wise ways for the good of others. Amen.
