The Measure of Our Days

UV 830/10,000 The Measure of Our Days So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90 v 12 I began this pursuit of studying one verse from the Bible every day and most often early in the morning before I set my hand to anything else influenced by this uni-verse. Many years ago as a young man I started numbering or counting my days, counting backward from 10,000 which is approximately 30 years. But I could not sustain this simple habit till I combined it with applying my heart to studying one uni-verse every day. I had to wait till the Lord taught me how to number my days. The Lord lays one verse on my heart every morning and then I read and study all the related verses in a Bible concordance from Genesis to Revelation. Thereby, I get and impart a 360 degree perspective on that particular truth or principle. Now the habit had been formed that could be sustained: I was both numbering my days and also applying my heart and mind to learning the wisdom of God as revealed in His Word. I was beginning to see what it means to live on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It implies giving priority, precedence or primacy to every word of scripture. Just as a mother bird feeds its young out of its mouth, the Lord desires to feed us wisdom, knowledge and understanding out of His mouth. He knows if we get these we will be able to walk, run and fly avoiding the pitfalls of the earth, the predators of the air and sky. He knew that man cannot obtain wisdom by plucking it from a tree. It had to grow like a seed, then a seedling and then a plant and finally a full blown tree. The one habit of studying the Word and learning from the nearly 10,000 principles and promises that are hidden in it will lead us to greater and greater wisdom and understanding. Life is long enough to apply each of these principles or to claim the promises in one or other area of our lives. At any given time, we need to have a hold on about ten principles just as our hands have ten fingers. This is the reason the Lord says, “ I will teach your fingers to war.” Many leaders and teachers like Stephen Covey confuse habits and principles. Principles are rules or guidelines for our conduct and lives. It involves an attitude that is sustained with few breaks. A habit is what one does with regularity on an almost daily basis. It involves an action that is repeated with few breaks. Covey’s principles or attitudes like being proactive, sharpening the saw of knowledge, the importance of understanding in human relationships etc were derived from the regular prayerful daily study of the Bible, as he himself acknowledged towards the end of his popular book, “ The Seven Habits”. Studying the Word of God and diligently applying it to ourselves, to measure our days and our worth will teach us to be wise and humble before God all the days of our lives. We will realize that we weigh in so light on the scales of God. We will realize the vanity of our human pursuits. At the same time, studying the Word day after day and meditating on it both day and night will propel us to hyperbole or excellence in all aspects of our lives. This is the reason I say that it takes only one habit to transform our minds, our perspectives, our relationships, our work and our lives. Prateep V Philip