If You Knew the Number of Your Days, Would You Live Differently?

Have you ever wondered how long you are going to live? I don’t mean in a morbid way. I mean, if the Lord offered to tell you the exact number of your days, would you want to know?

At first, I thought I might. There is something about knowing that feels comforting, and I’m a planner, so part of me thinks I could handle things better if I knew what was coming. But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that knowing might create a whole new kind of anxiety. Imagine waking up every morning knowing another day had disappeared from your total. Instead of enjoying today, I might start watching the countdown.

Maybe not knowing is actually a blessing.

What Would Suddenly Stop Mattering?

That question led me somewhere I wasn’t expecting. If I knew the number of my days, I think my priorities would change.

Things that seem incredibly important today might suddenly seem pretty insignificant. Would I spend nearly as much time worrying about what someone thought about me? Would I replay a hurtful comment over and over in my head? Would I get upset over something that went wrong at work, something somebody posted online, or some little irritation that probably won’t matter a month from now?

And what about the words I speak? If I knew my time with someone was limited, would I be quicker to criticize them, or quicker to tell them how much they mean to me? Would gossip still seem interesting if I knew I had precious little time to waste talking about someone else’s life?

Ouch. Some questions have a way of stepping on your toes before you even finish asking them.

Teach Us to Number Our Days

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

I love that verse because it doesn’t say, “Lord, tell me exactly how many days I have.” It says, teach me to number them.

There is a difference. We don’t need to know the number to understand that our days are valuable. We simply need the wisdom to remember that they are limited. Maybe knowing the number of our days wouldn’t change how much time we have, but it would change what we believe deserves our time.

That thought has stayed with me.

David Asked God to Remind Him How Brief Life Is

Psalm 39:4-6 (NIV)
⁴ “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. ⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. ⁶ “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.

Those last few words really caught my attention. We rush, we worry, we collect, we plan, and we work harder to get more. Then we work harder to take care of everything we accumulated. Scripture reminds us that one day, someone else will own all of it.

Well, that will humble you in a hurry. Lol!

There is nothing wrong with working hard, saving money, enjoying a beautiful home, or buying things we enjoy. But those things need to stay in their proper place. If they begin taking our time away from God, our families, our relationships, and the people we love, we may need to look at our priorities again.

Would We Treat People Differently?

This is the part that really made me think. If I knew I had one year left, would the people in my life know how much they mean to me? Would Joe know? Would my children and grandchildren know? Would my parents, my siblings, and my friends know?

I would certainly hope so. But why should I need a deadline before I make sure?

We tend to assume there will always be another phone call, another visit, another holiday, another Sunday dinner, or another opportunity to say the thing we should have said today. Most of the time, there probably will be, but none of us has been promised that.

Maybe numbering our days means becoming more intentional about the people God has put in our lives. Say, “I love you.” Make the call. Send the text. Forgive the person. Apologize when you need to. Stop waiting for the perfect moment to tell someone what they mean to you.

Would Money Still Have the Same Importance?

Another thought I wrote down was money. If you knew you had only a short time left, would you still spend as much energy worrying about having more?

Again, money itself isn’t bad. We need it to live, and being responsible with what God provides is important. But money can quietly move from being something we use to something that controls us.

We can spend years chasing the next goal and continually moving the finish line. When we finally earn this much, then we’ll relax. When we pay this off, then we’ll enjoy ourselves. When we reach this number, then we’ll feel secure.

Except there is always another number.

Psalm 39 reminds us that people can spend their lives “heaping up wealth” without even knowing who will eventually receive it. That doesn’t mean we should stop planning for tomorrow. It means we shouldn’t sacrifice today while doing it.

Live Like You Were Dying

While I was writing all of this in my journal, I thought about the Tim McGraw song “Live Like You Were Dying.” The whole idea of the song is that learning your time might be limited changes the way you see your life.

It made me wonder: why should we have to receive bad news before we decide to live differently? Why wait until we know time is short before we forgive, spend time with the people we love, do something God has placed on our hearts, or stop worrying about things that really don’t deserve this much of our attention?

We may not know the number of our days, but we already know that our time here is temporary. That should be enough to make today matter.

Our Days Are Limited, But We Don’t Have to Fear That

Thinking about the brevity of life can sound depressing, but I don’t think that is what Scripture is trying to accomplish. God isn’t telling us to live afraid because our days are numbered. He is teaching us to live wisely because our days are valuable.

There is a huge difference.

When I look at it that way, numbering my days doesn’t produce fear. It puts things into perspective. That irritation I’ve been holding onto may not be worth another day. That person I’ve been meaning to call may need to hear from me today. That worry I keep carrying, even though I’ve already prayed about it, may need to be handed back to God. And that thing I keep saying I’ll do “someday” may need to become today.

What Deserves Your Time Today?

None of us knows if we have forty more years, four more years, or far less, and maybe that is exactly how it is supposed to be. God knows the number of our days. We don’t need to.

Our job is to be faithful with the day He has placed in front of us.

So instead of asking, “Lord, how much time do I have?” perhaps a better prayer is, “Lord, show me how You want me to use the time You have given me.”

What deserves your attention today? Who needs to hear that you love them? Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there a worry you need to finally place in God’s hands? Is there something you have been postponing because you assume you will always have more time?

We cannot control the number of our days, but with God’s help, we can decide what we do with this one.

To God Goes The Glory!

Have A Blessed Day!

Let’s End With A Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of today. I don’t know the number of my days, but You do, and I trust You with them.

Teach me to number my days so that I may live with wisdom. Help me recognize what truly deserves my time, and let go of the worries, hurts, distractions, and little things that don’t.

Remind me to love the people You have placed in my life well. Help me forgive quickly, speak kindly, say what needs to be said, and stop putting off the things You are calling me to do.

Lord, I don’t want to live afraid of how much time I have left. I want to live grateful for the time You have given me today. Help me use it for Your purpose and Your glory.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.