“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom,” “Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children.” Psalm 90:12,16
In the writings of Paul, we find that God gave him a remarkable revelation of Himself, first on the road to Damascus at his conversion, but thereafter, in unveiling the message and power of the Gospel in intricate detail. Without referring to himself directly, he refers to a “man in Christ” to whom God gave a vision, or revelation, of paradise. Paul writes concerning this event: “…he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Cor. 12:4) In other words, Paul was overwhelmed by what he saw and heard, for it exceeded all he would have asked for or thought. Why then this revelation? It is a part of the whole revelation that God gave to Paul, a vision of the glory of God, to be embraced, respected, and lived by. Paul always saw himself as a servant of God, one called to be faithful to the mission God had given him, especially because of the revelation of Christ to his heart. He felt the conviction and obligation, to use well the time that God had given to him. He would consider time as a valuable gift, to be “redeemed,” or as Moses would refer to it, the numbering of one’s days. This Paul would do to the maximum of his capacity by the Holy Spirit. He would not miss his opportunity to serve Christ, as the vision of His glory was too overwhelming and wonderful to do so. What are the principles revealed in Scripture by which one can practically use well one’s time and opportunity?
The first principle, in response to the Lord’s revelation of Himself to our hearts in worship, is that of believing prayer. We return to Moses’ prayer and look at the simplicity of his request to God: “So teach us to number our days.” Redeeming the time begins with God, not only heaven’s perspective, but heaven’s power. Christ is the great and perfect teacher, and only He can lead the believer into the right, and perfect use of his time. Thus, there is the prayer concerning the “numbering” of one’s days, the realization and conviction that every believer only has a certain number of days provided by God for the realization of His purposes, by His means. “Wisdom” coming from Christ by the Spirit is another aspect of this prayer. Christ IS the wisdom of the believer. (1 Cor. 1:30) According to the Apostle James, this wisdom from Christ must be sought by prayer, with regard to how one is to live and what one is to trust God for. The Lord Jesus will reveal the objective truth, and its application, to the believer by the Spirit.
The second principle in considering the matter of time is the essential of realizing its imminency. What is meant by this? There is such a thing as waiting upon God, patiently looking to heaven for God-given expectations to be realized in the life. But the believer can be deceived into believing that God is not willing to do the wonderful thing now, it not being quite the time to be in the business of the Father. For Israel who had returned in part from exile, the work of the second temple had been halted by opposition. A gradual acceptance of this situation resulted in a stagnation of the use of time, so much so that the people were saying, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” (Haggai 1:2) God’s answer: “Consider your ways.” ((1:5) “From this day I will bless you.” (2:19).
Paul would reaffirm this matter of imminency by writing: “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2) To the Ephesian believers he would write concerning redeeming the time, speaking of wisdom: “…be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (5;17)
Father, give us today the wisdom to redeem the time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.