TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE
Please read Numbers 33:22-31
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12
DEVOTIONAL
by Sandra Chua
Do you keep a journal, diary, or album of memories? What are the contents of those memoirs? Does it record the daily grinds of life, the mundane daily travels to work, the unending household chores? Do you record your mistakes and successes?
Israel had not trusted the Lord to bring them to the promised land. When God ordered spies to survey the land, ten spies brought discouraging reports and caused the whole congregation to want to go back to Egypt. This angered the Lord, and as a punishment, they were made to roam aimlessly through the wilderness for forty years.
Reading through the journey in the wilderness, I was tracing the route with a map. I found that some places had been lost, and scholars could not find them anymore. My question was, what can I learn from this?
When I look back at my life, I see that there are many “places” that I’ve lost, too. A few times, I had people ask me, “What keeps you busy these days?” I scrambled through my mind and thought, what happened? What was I busy with?
Because of the Israelites’ disobedience, they lost forty years. It was a learning journey; they went on a series of sinning and repenting, and through it all, they learned more and more about who God is. Some places were lost entirely, like those listed in verses 22-31. Days and places that do not matter in the light of eternity. Days and places and times that have been spent on things that do not last.
REFLECTION
How are you using your time and resources? If someone were to ask you, “What keeps you busy these days?” Would your answer matter a few months from now? Would it matter a few years after? Or would it matter when You stand in the presence of God?
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, You are the Eternal God, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. We are but a fleeting shadow. We have worth only because You purchased us by the blood of Jesus. One day, we will stand before You as all men should. May we fulfill your purpose for us. Teach us to fill our days with things that matter to You. Give us the wisdom to choose wisely, to balance, and to prioritize so that we may be able to store up treasures for life, which is truly life—in Your name, we pray, amen.
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