Day 17: Psalm 90 - Teach Us to Number Our Days

Take a moment to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then open your eyes and slowly read and pray today's psalm in the image above.

Before the mountains were formed and long after we are gone, God is God (2). Consider how the contrast between God's everlasting presence and our passing lives makes you feel (1-5).

The psalmist groans that our days pass away and we finish our years with a moan (9). Yet the same prayer speaks of God's unfailing love and asks that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days (14). The psalm ends by asking God to make us glad and to show his deeds and splendor, even to future generations (15-17). Ask God to help you see what you might be missing and to bring gladness alongside whatever else you feel.

The psalmist asks, "Relent, Lord! How long will it be?" (13). Consider how Jesus' life, death, and resurrection might change how this psalm feels to you. Then slowly pray Psalm 90 again.

Reflection Questions

Personal reflection:

Does your suffering ever make you feel as if life is futile and meaningless (9)? Have you ever told God about that feeling?

Community discussion:

Have there been times in your suffering when you felt two seemingly contradictory things at once, like despair and hope? How have you held those feelings together?