What Do We Do With Our Time?

Psalm 90:1-6 & 13-17

1Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.

2Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

3You return man to dust, saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”

4For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.

5You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—

6in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

13Return, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on Your servants.

14Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil.

16May Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your splendor to their children.

17May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands—yes, establish the work of our hands!

“When are we going to get there?” “How long is that?” “That’s too long.” Parents, you know the road trip questions. How long do we have to endure this car ride? Although I have to say it is way easier now-a-days, with movies and video games at the ready ( I feel a ‘back in my day’ speech coming). In verse 13, David asks that question of God, which is also a question we sometimes ask, “How long until you come God?”

There seems to be more bad things going on in the world than good: wars, natural disasters, innocent people being hurt or killed, politics…then you add the disobedient child, the not-so-smart co-worker (or customer), a car breaking down, or a tree in your backyard dying. All of these big and little things pile up and make you want to scream, “What’s next?!” “How long until Christ returns and makes all things right?”

While this is all a little overwhelming, just a glance at the next few verses can help us straighten up a little. David knew exactly what would make these things tolerable, what could “satisfy” us, and “that we may sing for joy and be glad.” He goes on “May your deeds be shown to your servants.” What deeds is he talking about? We can see these in verse 1&2 that He has been our dwelling place, the creator and sustainer since He placed the world into existence. He is not bound by time, and He makes men return to dust. God has been in total control of everything from the beginning of time to the end of time, ‘from everlasting to everlasting.’

To summarize, our lives are filled with tough things, God is in control, and we are just passing time until we return to dust…what now? This is when we can look at verse 17: “May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands.” What a great prayer! As Christ-followers, this is where our attitude should veer from a non-believer. As we are surrounded by all the junk in the world, asking God to use us, to establish the work of our hands, to make our work endure. Another way to say this would be to have our legacy last for generations. If we were asking for God’s favor so we could get things done our way, that would be selfish and not glorifying to God. You can be the best at whatever you do, but if you aren’t doing it to share Christ through it, what good is it?

We fill our time with lots of great things, and sometimes we can get overwhelmed by all the negative things happening around us. We dream of what life could be like if only there wasn’t war, homelessness, hunger…. We think if only this person did their job differently, or if we could change something about that person, then life would be better. The issue with this is we can’t do anything about that other person. All these thoughts take up way too much mental space which restricts us from really thinking about how God wants us to respond in that situation or toward that person. How can I bring God’s kingdom to this world? How do my relationships show grace and love? How does my work bring glory to God? Do people know the love of Christ more or less after we are together?

As we wait for Christ’s return, may our minds and hearts seek and dwell in the heart of God, while modeling the actions of Christ as He walked on earth. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us in our work, family, and relationships, so that as we wait for Christ to make all things right, we can share the hope we have that one day we will sing for joy and be glad all our days.