December 9, 2025 • 13 mins
Time gets real when you can hold it in your hand. We take a candid look at Psalm 90–92 and show how translating years into months can turn abstract wisdom into daily action. Moses’ prayer—teach us to number our days—becomes a practical rhythm through a simple marble-in-a-vase practice that keeps priorities honest, fuels gratitude, and nudges us toward decisions that actually align with our values and faith.
From there, we press into what truly lasts. Psalm 90’s closing plea asks God to establish the work of our hands, and we talk about how that reshapes success from outcomes to obedience. Rather than chase quick wins or drift toward distractions, we explore how to choose assignments that carry weight: encouraging people, building integrity, sharing the gospel, and creating good work that reflects God’s character. When the Lord stabilizes our efforts, ordinary faithfulness turns into enduring fruit.
We also reframe refuge with Psalm 91. God’s shelter is not permission to coast; it is strength to engage. We unpack how his presence equips us to love well in hard places, persevere under pressure, and serve without burning out. Then Psalm 92 gives a hopeful vision for later years: the righteous still bear fruit in old age. That means we refuse the myth of aimless retirement and keep investing in people—praying, mentoring, serving, and declaring that the Lord is our rock.
If you’re ready to stop drifting and start living with intention, this conversation will help you anchor your months to what matters most. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review to tell us one practice you’ll start this month.
Get our magazine and daily devotional: https://www.wisdomonline.org/lp/magazine
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:02):
From the moment you were born, your time on earth is
short.
The older we get, the more weunderstand that.
And the more we understand that,the wiser we will be.
Remembering that your life isshort changes how you live out
your days.
It gives you a properperspective that focuses on
(01:23):
serving God with gratitude andfaithfulness.
This is the Wisdom Journey.
Stephen will help you live withpurpose in this lesson called
Counting Down the Days.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
We come today to book four, and it begins with
the great psalm written byMoses, Psalm number 90.
And I gotta tell you, thebrevity of life was on the heart
and mind of Moses when he wrotethis particular poem.
Now, this poem is really abouthow short life happens to be.
Now, of course, the classicverse in this psalm is here in
(02:03):
verse 12.
Moses writes, Teach us to numberour days that we may get a heart
of wisdom.
Now, I don't think Moses isbeing pessimistic here, and I
don't think he's joking either.
If you take the time toliterally count out the number
of days you think you might haveto live, that's going to have a
profound impact on your heartdeveloping in the area of
(02:28):
wisdom.
Now, at this point in ourgeneration, the average
lifespan, at least in ourcountry, is right around 77
years of age.
So let's just assume you'll liveto be 77 years old.
Well, if you do, how many daysdo you have left?
Well, if you're listening to meand you're 17 years old, you
have 21,900 days left.
(02:51):
That's uh that's only too manynumbers to keep track of.
So let's let's do it accordingto months.
If you're 17, you have 720months left to live.
If you live to be 77.
If you're 21 years old, you have672 months left to live.
If you're 35, well, you have 504months left.
(03:13):
If you're 45, you have 384months to go.
If you're 55, you have 264months left.
And if you're 65, you have 144months left to live.
Now if you're 75, you have 24months left before you reach the
average lifespan of 77.
(03:36):
If you're listening to me andyou're 85, well, you can just
sit there and smile because youbeat the average.
You definitely, however, knowthat time is short.
You can appreciate perhaps whatCharles Ryrie, the author of the
Ryrie Study Bible, once said.
Dr.
Ryrie taught several courseshere at Shepherd's Seminary
(03:56):
years ago when he was in hiseighties.
It was a delight to get to knowhim.
He preached for me a few times.
And one time he said in thepulpit that he was so old he
wouldn't even buy green bananasanymore.
It was just too much of a risk.
Well, there's a sense here asMoses writes Psalm ninety, that
he wants us to start countingdown the days.
(04:18):
He even gives us an averagenumber to use.
He says right here in verse ten,the years of our life are
seventy, or even by reason ofstrength, eighty.
Yet their span is but toil andtrouble.
They are soon gone, and we flyaway.
So verse twelve, teach us tonumber our days that we may get,
(04:42):
we may develop a heart ofwisdom.
Now I want to tell you, when Iwas around forty years of age, I
decided to put this challengefrom Moses into a tangible,
literal physical exercise that Icould see.
Well, I I bought a glass vase,which I keep in my office at
home.
I filled it with little greenmarbles representing how many
(05:06):
how many months I had left tolive if I lived to the age of
77.
Each marble represented onemonth.
And to this day, every month Itake one of those marbles out
and I throw it away to mark thepassing of one more month of my
life.
And I want to tell you, when Iwas when I was 40 years old, it
(05:26):
seemed like a long time to 77.
There were a lot of marbles.
I counted them recently to makesure I had the right number in
there, and I came up 12 marblesshort, which represented one
entire year of my life.
So I counted them again.
I still came up 12 short.
(05:47):
Either I I can't count orsomebody's stealing my marbles.
Well, what if it really meanswhat if it means I'm losing my
marbles faster than expected?
Actually, I've been tempted tochange the formula and make it
88 years.
Well, my mother lived to beeighty-eight until she passed
(06:08):
away.
Or I I'm thinking of adjustingit to ninety-two years to count
uh the age of my father.
Well, I I've actually decided tokeep it at 77 years.
And if I take out the lastmarble from that vase in my
study and keep on living, Ithink I'm going to start putting
in jelly beans each month torepresent the extra time the
(06:31):
Lord has given me to enjoy.
Listen, this isn't a morbidexercise.
It it's biblical.
Contemplating the brevity ofyour life, according to God's
word, actually creates aperspective on life that that
helps you develop a heart ofwisdom.
(06:54):
In other words, when when whenyou realize how short life is,
you're gonna want to make wisedecisions because you've only
got one life.
I recommend maybe you get yourown vase and you do the same
thing.
And I gotta tell you, when youlive with a heart of wisdom, you
only want what Moses wanted outof life.
(07:15):
He describes it here for us inverse 17 at the end of this
psalm.
Let the favor of the Lord ourGod be upon us and establish the
work of our hands.
He says that because he knowsall that matters in life is that
God gives you something to do,something you can use to bring
glory to him, and that's exactlywhat you want to do.
(07:39):
Now the next Psalm opens withthis thought in mind.
This time it's an anonymous poetwho writes here in Psalm
ninety-one in verse one.
He who dwells in the shelter ofthe most high will abide in the
shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, myrefuge and my fortress.
(08:00):
Now he's not talking here aboutyou know hitting cruise control
and sitting back in the shade ofGod's protection.
God doesn't offer us refuge sothat we can crawl into some easy
chair and get the TV remote outand our favorite potato chips.
No, God, God is saying throughthis anonymous poet that seeking
Him as your refuge, it isn'tabout coasting through life.
(08:22):
It's about having exactly whatyou need to do ministry in your
life, somewhere in the world.
And that ministry, that job,that role, that service happens
to be in the presence andaccording to the power of God.
And that's the best place to be.
And with that we come to Psalm92.
(08:44):
And again the anonymous poethere leads us in singing here in
verse one.
It is good to give thanks to theLord down in verse four.
For you, O Lord, have made meglad by your work.
At the works of your hands Ising for joy.
In other words, let's sing withjoy because of the work of God's
(09:05):
hands.
Think of the work of God'shands.
Let me tell you, the hands ofGod are now nail pierced.
They are an eternal reminder ofhis suffering for our
redemption.
In fact, we're going to findthat the only person in heaven
with scars will be the Son ofGod.
He redeemed us, he removed everyscar from our bodies and our
(09:30):
hearts, and every time we lookat him, we're going to see those
nail-pierced hands.
You know, as I get older andthose marbles, you know, they're
getting lower and lower in thatvase I still have on my shelf in
my study at home.
Is God still interested in mylife, my service, my worship?
Oh, absolutely.
(09:52):
No matter how many marbles yougot left, he's always
interested.
I I personally think one of thegreatest lies perpetuated and
and pushed on people is thatthey ought to live their lives
so that when they get old,they'll not have to do anything.
They'll not have any work, theywon't have to provide any
service.
They can just sit on the porchsomewhere at the beach and look
(10:14):
at the ocean, or they can spendthe rest of their days, you
know, collecting seashells or orplaying golf.
What kind of final chapter isthat?
Is that really how you want tospend your last few marbles?
You want to get isolated frompeople?
You want to be removed fromministry, the church?
(10:35):
You're going to keep to yourselfin your own little world and at
your own little porch swing?
Well the psalmist says here inthis Psalm and verse twelve The
righteous flourish like the palmtree.
They are planted in the house ofthe Lord.
They flourish in the courts ofour God.
In other words, they're stillfollowing the Lord.
(10:58):
They're they're they're bringingfruit in their older years.
They're investing in people,they're praying for people,
they're serving other people.
No, they they can't work as longas they used to, they can't walk
as fast as they used to, andthings still walk at all.
But the Lord says of them herein verse 14, they are still
bearing fruit in old age, theyare ever full of sap and green.
(11:23):
That is, they still have energyto declare that the Lord is
upright, He is my rock.
Man, that's the kind oftestimony I want to have as I
get older.
That's the righteous life.
That's how you want to spendyour life down to the last
marble.
Let me ask you a question.
(11:44):
How many marbles do you haveleft?
Or how many do you think youhave left?
If you lived to the age of 77,how many would be in that vase?
Well, since you you really can'tknow for sure, I want to
encourage you to make sureyou're using each marble, each
month, each day, to follow,honor, serve, joyfully represent
(12:11):
the one who is your refuge, yourrock, and your salvation.
Well, until next time, beloved,may the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God andthe fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
Thanks for listening to The Wisdom Journey with
Stephen Davey.
To learn more about us andaccess all of our Bible teaching
resources, visitwisdomonline.org.
Our phone number is866-482-4253.
And you can email us at info atwisdomonline.org.
(13:01):
Stephen developed this dailyprogram to help you know what
the Bible says, understand whatit means, and apply it to your
life.
So please join us next time tocontinue the wisdom journey.
From the moment you were born, your time on earth is
short.
The older we get, the more weunderstand that.
And the more we understand that,the wiser we will be.
Remembering that your life isshort changes how you live out
your days.
It gives you a properperspective that focuses on
(01:23):
serving God with gratitude andfaithfulness.
This is the Wisdom Journey.
Stephen will help you live withpurpose in this lesson called
Counting Down the Days.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
We come today to book four, and it begins with
the great psalm written byMoses, Psalm number 90.
And I gotta tell you, thebrevity of life was on the heart
and mind of Moses when he wrotethis particular poem.
Now, this poem is really abouthow short life happens to be.
Now, of course, the classicverse in this psalm is here in
(02:03):
verse 12.
Moses writes, Teach us to numberour days that we may get a heart
of wisdom.
Now, I don't think Moses isbeing pessimistic here, and I
don't think he's joking either.
If you take the time toliterally count out the number
of days you think you might haveto live, that's going to have a
profound impact on your heartdeveloping in the area of
(02:28):
wisdom.
Now, at this point in ourgeneration, the average
lifespan, at least in ourcountry, is right around 77
years of age.
So let's just assume you'll liveto be 77 years old.
Well, if you do, how many daysdo you have left?
Well, if you're listening to meand you're 17 years old, you
have 21,900 days left.
(02:51):
That's uh that's only too manynumbers to keep track of.
So let's let's do it accordingto months.
If you're 17, you have 720months left to live.
If you live to be 77.
If you're 21 years old, you have672 months left to live.
If you're 35, well, you have 504months left.
(03:13):
If you're 45, you have 384months to go.
If you're 55, you have 264months left.
And if you're 65, you have 144months left to live.
Now if you're 75, you have 24months left before you reach the
average lifespan of 77.
(03:36):
If you're listening to me andyou're 85, well, you can just
sit there and smile because youbeat the average.
You definitely, however, knowthat time is short.
You can appreciate perhaps whatCharles Ryrie, the author of the
Ryrie Study Bible, once said.
Dr.
Ryrie taught several courseshere at Shepherd's Seminary
(03:56):
years ago when he was in hiseighties.
It was a delight to get to knowhim.
He preached for me a few times.
And one time he said in thepulpit that he was so old he
wouldn't even buy green bananasanymore.
It was just too much of a risk.
Well, there's a sense here asMoses writes Psalm ninety, that
he wants us to start countingdown the days.
(04:18):
He even gives us an averagenumber to use.
He says right here in verse ten,the years of our life are
seventy, or even by reason ofstrength, eighty.
Yet their span is but toil andtrouble.
They are soon gone, and we flyaway.
So verse twelve, teach us tonumber our days that we may get,
(04:42):
we may develop a heart ofwisdom.
Now I want to tell you, when Iwas around forty years of age, I
decided to put this challengefrom Moses into a tangible,
literal physical exercise that Icould see.
Well, I I bought a glass vase,which I keep in my office at
home.
I filled it with little greenmarbles representing how many
(05:06):
how many months I had left tolive if I lived to the age of
77.
Each marble represented onemonth.
And to this day, every month Itake one of those marbles out
and I throw it away to mark thepassing of one more month of my
life.
And I want to tell you, when Iwas when I was 40 years old, it
(05:26):
seemed like a long time to 77.
There were a lot of marbles.
I counted them recently to makesure I had the right number in
there, and I came up 12 marblesshort, which represented one
entire year of my life.
So I counted them again.
I still came up 12 short.
(05:47):
Either I I can't count orsomebody's stealing my marbles.
Well, what if it really meanswhat if it means I'm losing my
marbles faster than expected?
Actually, I've been tempted tochange the formula and make it
88 years.
Well, my mother lived to beeighty-eight until she passed
(06:08):
away.
Or I I'm thinking of adjustingit to ninety-two years to count
uh the age of my father.
Well, I I've actually decided tokeep it at 77 years.
And if I take out the lastmarble from that vase in my
study and keep on living, Ithink I'm going to start putting
in jelly beans each month torepresent the extra time the
(06:31):
Lord has given me to enjoy.
Listen, this isn't a morbidexercise.
It it's biblical.
Contemplating the brevity ofyour life, according to God's
word, actually creates aperspective on life that that
helps you develop a heart ofwisdom.
(06:54):
In other words, when when whenyou realize how short life is,
you're gonna want to make wisedecisions because you've only
got one life.
I recommend maybe you get yourown vase and you do the same
thing.
And I gotta tell you, when youlive with a heart of wisdom, you
only want what Moses wanted outof life.
(07:15):
He describes it here for us inverse 17 at the end of this
psalm.
Let the favor of the Lord ourGod be upon us and establish the
work of our hands.
He says that because he knowsall that matters in life is that
God gives you something to do,something you can use to bring
glory to him, and that's exactlywhat you want to do.
(07:39):
Now the next Psalm opens withthis thought in mind.
This time it's an anonymous poetwho writes here in Psalm
ninety-one in verse one.
He who dwells in the shelter ofthe most high will abide in the
shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, myrefuge and my fortress.
(08:00):
Now he's not talking here aboutyou know hitting cruise control
and sitting back in the shade ofGod's protection.
God doesn't offer us refuge sothat we can crawl into some easy
chair and get the TV remote outand our favorite potato chips.
No, God, God is saying throughthis anonymous poet that seeking
Him as your refuge, it isn'tabout coasting through life.
(08:22):
It's about having exactly whatyou need to do ministry in your
life, somewhere in the world.
And that ministry, that job,that role, that service happens
to be in the presence andaccording to the power of God.
And that's the best place to be.
And with that we come to Psalm92.
(08:44):
And again the anonymous poethere leads us in singing here in
verse one.
It is good to give thanks to theLord down in verse four.
For you, O Lord, have made meglad by your work.
At the works of your hands Ising for joy.
In other words, let's sing withjoy because of the work of God's
(09:05):
hands.
Think of the work of God'shands.
Let me tell you, the hands ofGod are now nail pierced.
They are an eternal reminder ofhis suffering for our
redemption.
In fact, we're going to findthat the only person in heaven
with scars will be the Son ofGod.
He redeemed us, he removed everyscar from our bodies and our
(09:30):
hearts, and every time we lookat him, we're going to see those
nail-pierced hands.
You know, as I get older andthose marbles, you know, they're
getting lower and lower in thatvase I still have on my shelf in
my study at home.
Is God still interested in mylife, my service, my worship?
Oh, absolutely.
(09:52):
No matter how many marbles yougot left, he's always
interested.
I I personally think one of thegreatest lies perpetuated and
and pushed on people is thatthey ought to live their lives
so that when they get old,they'll not have to do anything.
They'll not have any work, theywon't have to provide any
service.
They can just sit on the porchsomewhere at the beach and look
(10:14):
at the ocean, or they can spendthe rest of their days, you
know, collecting seashells or orplaying golf.
What kind of final chapter isthat?
Is that really how you want tospend your last few marbles?
You want to get isolated frompeople?
You want to be removed fromministry, the church?
(10:35):
You're going to keep to yourselfin your own little world and at
your own little porch swing?
Well the psalmist says here inthis Psalm and verse twelve The
righteous flourish like the palmtree.
They are planted in the house ofthe Lord.
They flourish in the courts ofour God.
In other words, they're stillfollowing the Lord.
(10:58):
They're they're they're bringingfruit in their older years.
They're investing in people,they're praying for people,
they're serving other people.
No, they they can't work as longas they used to, they can't walk
as fast as they used to, andthings still walk at all.
But the Lord says of them herein verse 14, they are still
bearing fruit in old age, theyare ever full of sap and green.
(11:23):
That is, they still have energyto declare that the Lord is
upright, He is my rock.
Man, that's the kind oftestimony I want to have as I
get older.
That's the righteous life.
That's how you want to spendyour life down to the last
marble.
Let me ask you a question.
(11:44):
How many marbles do you haveleft?
Or how many do you think youhave left?
If you lived to the age of 77,how many would be in that vase?
Well, since you you really can'tknow for sure, I want to
encourage you to make sureyou're using each marble, each
month, each day, to follow,honor, serve, joyfully represent
(12:11):
the one who is your refuge, yourrock, and your salvation.
Well, until next time, beloved,may the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God andthe fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
Thanks for listening to The Wisdom Journey with
Stephen Davey.
To learn more about us andaccess all of our Bible teaching
resources, visitwisdomonline.org.
Our phone number is866-482-4253.
And you can email us at info atwisdomonline.org.
(13:01):
Stephen developed this dailyprogram to help you know what
the Bible says, understand whatit means, and apply it to your
life.
So please join us next time tocontinue the wisdom journey.
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