Our earthly life can be compared with a candle... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

Our earthly life can be compared with a candle that is slowly but surely burning down. Even if none of us knows how many days we have left, it is clear to us all that every day that passes brings us nearer to the end of our life. Seen in this light, counting our days could make us depressive.

That was not Moses' intention, however, when he made this request to God. His wish was that God should make us aware of the transience of our life; not that we should regret every passing day, but that we might gain "a heart of wisdom". What does this mean?

In God's eyes someone is wise who listens to Him when it is a matter of our life's destiny. It is wise to remember that when our earthly life ends, we enter eternity. Wisdom, then, consists in putting our life in order with God in good time, so that we spend the rest of it under His guidance.

Complaining that life is short is useless. We must learn from the Word of God what this means for us and draw the right conclusions. God does not want "any to perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 2, 9).

Turning to God while there is time is the order of the hour: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6, 2). Whoever lays hold on salvation by believing in the Saviour Jesus Christ is en route for a glorious future. He has used the days of his life, which are precious and irreplaceable, to his advantage.