Numbers

Recently I have been reading the Old Testament Books of Numbers.  Numbers 1 is about the number of people who were brought out of Egypt who wondered in the desert and died.  It is the first official census or numbering of the children of Israel. Numbers 2 is about the numbering of the children of Israel who were born in the wilderness who would later cross over into the Promised Land.  Numbers is God’s ways of counting the population of His people.  God wants to keep track of the time He has with us here on earth. Now, had I been one of those people in bondage in Egypt, I would have complained.  I know that about me.  Had I been one of those people born in the desert, I would have complained.  Yes!  I know me.  When things are not going well for me, I can complain well. But then I read this scripture in Psalms 90:12. It says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The Lord could have told me to stop complaining.  Instead, He showed me that complaining about what is happening with me now keeps me from seeing how to live abundantly right where I am. Numbering our days means we have a population of days in our futures.  We should live like we know what that population is.  Complaining will keep you from gaining insight to live through your circumstance with wisdom.  It keeps you from gaining wisdom. Complaining keeps you from living with the wisdom needed to get what God has provided for you each day, just as it is.  Complaining keeps you from seeing the little miracles God has designed for you. So here is what I have learned and what you can learn for yourself about seeing the good in life no matter how bad life seems to be for you now. Numbering your days means you live today like it is the last tomorrow you may have.  Numbering your days helps you see what is hidden by your heart from your eyes that are set on seeing how difficult things are for you. Numbering your days will make you say to yourself if today is my last day, I will live it like it is my best day.  The wisdom we gain when we number our days makes us understand this point.  When you do this, the number of days that are your best will be greater than the number of bad days in your life. Numbering your days will help you see that today does not have to be a great day for you to have a great day.  Wisdom tells you that. With the Lord, you don’t have to have a big house to have a great home.  Wisdom tells you that. Numbering your days will help you see that many of the things you lose are typically lost to make room for the things He wants you to gain.  You cannot fill your life with His blessings when it is already filled with stress over things you cannot control. Wisdom tells you that. Numbering your days helps you see that the things that happen to hinder you today are forgotten when tomorrow comes.  You learn to stop living just to get out of something. You learn instead to get through something. Wisdom tells us that. Numbering your days helps you see that when your season of bondage is today, you can live through it without it living through you.  Wisdom tells us that. Numbering your days helps you see that when your season of living in the wilderness is upon you, you can live in all abundance.  Wisdom tells us that. When we number our days, wisdom tells us to live as if we are the Lord’s no matter what we may be facing.  When we do this, we learn to live under the shadow of His wings, in the Power of His glory, in the abundance of His favor and in the excellence of His workmanship. So then, let’s learn to number our days so that we open our hearts to the wisdom He has made available to us, the wisdom that transforms how we live through any circumstance we may face, so that we will number our days with gladness.