September 15th, 2026
Psalm 90:9-12— For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
My advisor and mentor in seminary was a man named Bill Thrasher. Bill was heavily influenced by the faithfulness to Scripture of men like George Müller, who heavily valued the reading of God’s Word over any other book. In response to this Psalm Bill, in his mid-twenties, did exactly what verse twelve says and numbered his days. The Psalm says the years of our life are seventy, so he calculated out how many days there were between his age and his 70th birthday, and from that moment on he kept a countdown.
Today, Bill is approaching 80, but he still practices numbering his days. Except now, I believe he’s counting down to 80, and after that, he’s just going to thank God for each day, one at a time. One of the things that I loved about Bill was his humility. When he would share this practice (and he was one to often repeat stories in his classes), he would reiterate that he never went into a new day with the expectation that he would have another day. While he numbered his days as a reminder that he is mortal, he also reminded himself that seventy years is not promised and that each day is a gift, but what this practice did was reminded him every day that life is short and that there is a lot to do!
Paul writes in Ephesians, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Time is like water in the palm of your hand. . . it slips through your fingers. There’s a song by Jack Johnson that my family loves that says, “If I had a minute for every hour I’ve wasted, I’d be rich in time; I’d be doing fine.” And how true is that for every one of us. We are prone to waste time and forget the warning of this Psalm: life is hard and then you die. But what do you do in the meantime? That’s what matters, so number your days and take advantage of the time you have to love God and love your neighbor, especially to love your family!
In conclusion, we should remember the words of a wise sage, Gandalf the Gray: “All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” It’s not about doing something great, it's about being faithful with what is in front of you. So whether you eighteen or eighty, praise God for today and ask God to equip you for faithfulness today! And seek God for His wisdom.
United in Christ,
Rev. Joshua Fried
Pastor
Christ Presbyterian Church
My advisor and mentor in seminary was a man named Bill Thrasher. Bill was heavily influenced by the faithfulness to Scripture of men like George Müller, who heavily valued the reading of God’s Word over any other book. In response to this Psalm Bill, in his mid-twenties, did exactly what verse twelve says and numbered his days. The Psalm says the years of our life are seventy, so he calculated out how many days there were between his age and his 70th birthday, and from that moment on he kept a countdown.
Today, Bill is approaching 80, but he still practices numbering his days. Except now, I believe he’s counting down to 80, and after that, he’s just going to thank God for each day, one at a time. One of the things that I loved about Bill was his humility. When he would share this practice (and he was one to often repeat stories in his classes), he would reiterate that he never went into a new day with the expectation that he would have another day. While he numbered his days as a reminder that he is mortal, he also reminded himself that seventy years is not promised and that each day is a gift, but what this practice did was reminded him every day that life is short and that there is a lot to do!
Paul writes in Ephesians, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Time is like water in the palm of your hand. . . it slips through your fingers. There’s a song by Jack Johnson that my family loves that says, “If I had a minute for every hour I’ve wasted, I’d be rich in time; I’d be doing fine.” And how true is that for every one of us. We are prone to waste time and forget the warning of this Psalm: life is hard and then you die. But what do you do in the meantime? That’s what matters, so number your days and take advantage of the time you have to love God and love your neighbor, especially to love your family!
In conclusion, we should remember the words of a wise sage, Gandalf the Gray: “All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” It’s not about doing something great, it's about being faithful with what is in front of you. So whether you eighteen or eighty, praise God for today and ask God to equip you for faithfulness today! And seek God for His wisdom.
United in Christ,
Rev. Joshua Fried
Pastor
Christ Presbyterian Church
Recent
Archive
2026
January
2025
March
April
August
2024
January
February
March
April
No Comments