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How many days do you have left? That’s a very sobering, somewhat unsettling question, isn’t it? We don’t like to think about the fact that our days here on this earth are numbered. Oh, we all know the number behind us—how many days we’ve lived already. But thinking about how many are left—well, that’s not something we think about too often. In fact, most of us live as though our days are without number.
In Psalm 39:4 David wrote:
“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.”
And in Psalm 90:12 Moses prayed:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
These men of God were not asking for a gift of prophecy, but rather for a change in perspective. They understood that living in the knowledge of how fleeting life is becomes a life-changing attitude, and they recognized that this attitude doesn’t come naturally to anyone. So, they prayed for the ability to number their days.
I would suggest that all of us need to pray this prayer pretty regularly: “Lord, teach me to number my days correctly.” This is God’s method of counting, and it is powerful, once you learn it. You see, how you number your days has everything to do with how you live your life! Let me try to illustrate this for you.
Let’s say that you learn that a coworker has been given a promotion that you deserve. That is hurtful and your natural reaction is anger, retribution, self-defense. But suppose you knew you only had five more days here on this earth. Would that loss of promotion have much, if any, effect on you? No, I doubt it, because since your days are few, a lost promotion isn’t really important, is it?
That’s what David meant when he prayed, “Let me know how fleeting is my life.” You see, this is an attitude that has to come from God because it is not a natural, human tendency to number our days aright. Moses prayed “Teach me to number my days,” and we need to sign up for that course as well. It is an attitude that has to be learned and imposed into our lives, but when we learn this lesson, we gain a heart of wisdom.
All of us tend to live as though these days here on earth are numberless, don’t we? We just don’t naturally think about the fact that our days on earth will not go on forever. But as David wrote in Psalm 39:5:
“You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath...”
And again in Psalm 103:15-16:
“The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more..”
David is not telling us that our lives have no meaning, but rather he is reminding us that whether we have five days, five years, or fifty-five years or more remaining in these numbered days, they are very few compared to the numberless days ahead of us. Both he and Moses asked God to teach them to number their days; to help them live in the knowledge that life is short.
Here’s another illustration of how life-changing it is to number your days aright. Suppose you find out today what someone said about you, and it is untrue, unfair and unkind. Your feelings are hurt. You want to say something bad about him or her in return. But if you stop and number your days, it changes your reaction. You’re not as likely to want retribution, your anger dissipates, your stress goes down. When you remember to number your days, you realize that someone’s hurtful words cannot affect your numberless days yet to come. It won’t matter in eternity; it probably won’t matter next week!
From time to time we all get criticisms that are not constructive. If you’re like me, you want to defend yourself immediately. But God is teaching me to number my days when I’m criticized unfairly and say to myself: “What difference does it make, Mary? Life is short; you have other eternally important things to do.”
When you number your days correctly, it makes you wise rather than foolish, it reduces your stress, it saves your energy, it causes you to react correctly, it gives you the upper hand in any situation. But it’s a lesson to be learned. It’s “new math” for most of us, because not many of us know how to do it.
I want to remind you of some theology that will help you learn this new math of numbering your days. It’s called the Judgment Seat of Christ. This is a judgment for believers, not unbelievers.
While it’s true that our works and effort do not gain us entrance into heaven, it is also true that we will be held accountable to God for how we’ve used the days and resources that have been entrusted to us. We will stand individually before Christ at this Judgment Seat and what we have done that has no eternal significance or benefit will be burned up. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 the Apostle Paul writes:
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames.”
What we have done that has eternal significance will come out like gold and diamonds and precious stones, which cannot be harmed by fire. But we will suffer loss at that Judgment Seat if we’ve lived strictly for the here and now and never learned to number our days. I’m sure, like me, you don’t want to stand there with nothing to show for the numbered days you lived on earth.
In learning to maintain a positive attitude and not let the little stuff ruin my day, I’ve learned to say to myself, “What difference will this make in 24 hours?” That has been transformational for me—just getting a 24-hour perspective. I actually made a rule for myself that if whatever was bothering or upsetting me would not matter in 24 hours, then I was not allowed to spend any emotional energy on it. I could not get angry or frustrated or upset because it really didn’t matter. I’ve discovered that really helps keep me from getting upset over little things that don’t really matter.
Now just take that mental discipline to the next level. A more powerful version of that question might be: What difference will this make in eternity? What difference will it make at the Judgment Seat of Christ? That would address lots of things that will matter in 24 hours; things that perhaps have had a lasting effect on you; injustices and wrongs that have been done to you. Those are not overlooked in 24 hours. So, that’s when you make yourself change your focus and your perspective, and you ask, “What difference will this make in eternity?”
Not all hurts or wrongs will be forgotten or made right in this life. But the impact they have on you, the hurt and pain they continually cause you, the bitterness and anger that keeps robbing you of joy—can be truly diminished with an eternal perspective. It gives you the victory even though things are not right. You remember that God is going to make everything right someday; he will have the last word and you can let him handle it.
Also, if we practiced this regularly, it would have a great impact on how we spend our time. If what we’re doing with our time today is not going to count at the Judgment Seat, do we really want to spend much time doing it? It would have a great impact on how we spend our money. If we’re spending money foolishly and failing to send it on ahead to heaven, it’s not going to count for eternity. Focusing on the reality of the Judgment Seat of Christ will teach us to number our days.
If this sounds as though it would be life with restrictions, you’re right. Numbering your days rightly will cause you and me to put boundaries in our lives. As Paul wrote, “‘Everything is permissible for me—but not everything is beneficial” (1 Cor. 6:12). We each need to set boundaries for ourselves that will help us to number our days.
Please listen closely to this passage from 2 Peter 3:10-12a:
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”
Numbering our days rightly produces holy and godly lives, and that kind of life is good for the Judgment Seat because it will not go up in smoke but will produce jewels and gold. But not only is it good for numberless days, living a godly life is the best thing for us while we’re still in these numbered days.
Living “holy and godly” just means you are living in harmony with God’s plan for your life and that’s where we find meaning and joy and peace and contentment and freedom from fear and guilt. This new Bible math called “numbering your days” is the key to fulfillment here on earth as well as a beautiful experience when you stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Want to learn this new math? Start praying that God will teach you to number your days. Remember to say to yourself many times each day: “What difference will this make in eternity?” That will help you learn to number your days rightly.