A Heart Of Wisdom

Psalm 90:1-2, 4-6, 12

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In the late 1400s there was a chapel painting commissioned for the Sistine Chapel in Rome in the Vatican. And Michelangelo put together the plan for what we think of today as the great ceiling painting of that chapel. And he had to build special scaffolding and crawl up there and paint sometimes even on his back as he worked on the plan and the pattern of the painting.

Prior to this he had worked out what’s called a cartoon of the fresco. And that means he would lay out sort of a design of exactly what he was going to do so he knew exactly how far he was going to go and where he was going to paint. And often artists will do that when they lay out a very large mural to make sure that they know exactly where they’re going and what they’re doing.

Imagine if your life for just a moment was like a large mural with all the different details and facts and things laid out for you. Imagine that you looked at your life as if of a plan of all the things that were coming ahead of you. This is exactly what Moses is describing when he talks about our lives in Psalm 90. He says in Psalm 90

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers. (Psalm 90:1-2,4-6)

And what he’s describing here is the large picture of our lives. So often we can get so caught up in little details of what we’re doing in our day to day lives that it’s hard for us to remember to keep in mind where this is all going and what the real purpose of our life is all about. And so just like Michelangelo, even though he was up close painting in the ceiling, he frequently had to come back down to the floor level and look back up at what he was doing to make sure he was following the plan for the overall mural that he was painting.

And God would have that be the way that you and I approach our lives as well. That we come down from the scaffolding and look at the larger picture of what’s going on in our life. And remember that this life will come to an end someday. Moses goes on to say in verse 12.

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

And what he’s talking about there is having a knowledge of Christ as our Savior. That’s the real wisdom that we need to understand how to get past death and how to ultimately have life everlasting in Heaven which our Savior came into the world to give to each one of us through faith in him.

And so Moses is here describing the whole large picture the grand picture of your life. And God wants us to keep in mind exactly where we’re going because of what his word tells us and how our Lord Jesus has come into this world to pay for our sins and to give us everlasting life. And by faith in Him we have the wisdom that Moses is talking about when he says teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

May God give us the wisdom to come down from the scaffolding of our lives and not just focus on the little details here and there but understand the large great plan which he has for us and all the wonderful days of our lives. Amen.

May God give us the wisdom to come down from the scaffolding of our lives and not just focus on the little details here and there, but understand the large great plan which he has for us and all the wonderful days of our lives. Amen.