Written by Dawn Rutan
Recently I read the following verses: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom… Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil” (Psalm 90:12, 15 ESV). That led me to consider how we learn to number our days. I’m sure we’ve all said, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” and we know how time seems to drag when things aren’t going well due to pain, stress, or other difficulties. Is it possible that we learn to number our days when time is slowed down by suffering? That makes sense when you consider verse 15. Moses, the author of this psalm, certainly understood times of difficulty. I’m sure that 40 years spent wandering in the wilderness didn’t pass in the blink of an eye. He may as well have kept 40 yearly calendars and marked off the days one by one.
John Piper writes, “The psalmist said in Psalm 119:71, ‘It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes.’ He does not say it was easy or fun or pleasant. In retrospect he simply says, ‘It was good for me.’ I was reading a book by a Scottish minister last week. This James Stewart said, ‘In love’s service, only the wounded soldiers can serve.’ That’s why I believe some of you are being prepared for some precious service of love right now. Because you are being wounded. Do not think that your wound has come to you apart from God’s gracious design. Remember His word: ‘See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god besides Me… I wound and I heal…’ (Deuteronomy 32:39).” (http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/only-wounded-soldiers-can-serve)
Some lessons can be learned through a life of ease, but far more come through challenges and difficulties, or “opportunities” as one friend insists on calling them. Even in simple situations, it usually takes some difficulty before change looks preferable to the status quo. When computers or cars malfunction, we’re more likely to consider investing in something new than we are if everything is running smoothly. And when life trips us up, we start investigating what we might need to learn or do differently to restore a sense of order.
I’m not sure this is entirely good news. Learning to number our days seems to come most clearly from abiding through suffering. But it does lead to a “heart of wisdom,” which is something I think we’d all like to acquire. Affliction helps us to learn God’s statutes, trust Him more fully, depend on Him more dearly, communicate with Him more frequently, and love Him more openly.
Sometimes suffering comes from our own mistakes, and hopefully we do learn wisdom from those mistakes! But wisdom can come through many forms of suffering. It may be the young man who survives a bad car accident and now treasures his life and his family more than ever. It may be the father who suddenly loses his job and now has to determine what “luxuries” his family can do without. It can come through losing a loved one and being faced with the reality that eternal life is found only in Christ.
There are endless scenarios that lead to wisdom, but rarely does it come out of the clear blue sky. Even the wise King Solomon faced his share of struggles, questions, and mistakes. Although it’s definitely a good idea to pray for wisdom and seek wisdom as Proverbs tells us, it’s also a bit frightening to consider what it may take for that wisdom to develop. As many have said, if you pray for patience, you will face situations that try your patience. And if you pray for wisdom, you may face some situations that put you at the end of your rope. But when we come to the end of ourselves, then God has room to step in and do what He wants.
So pray for wisdom, but be careful what you ask for!
