HEART CHECK

DEVOTIONS FOR THE SOUL

POST RETREAT - DAY 4

Life Transitions upon the Eternal

PASSAGE: PSALM 90
Read through the entire Psalm and write down any key ideas, insights, or
observations from the text. Afterward, share your realizations within your
support group. There is no need for elaborate theological explanations but it
is highly encouraged for everyone to briefly share their personal encounter
with God in these passages with each other. God bless!
1) Moses poured out his heart to God. The Psalm would’ve probably been written
during the time that Israel was about to enter into the Promised Land. In a time of
wandering and transitions, Moses found his “dwelling place” in the Lord:

Psalm 90:1-2
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place

throughout all generations.

2 Before the mountains were born

or you brought forth the whole world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

a) Notice the stark contrast between the characteristics of God and the
characteristics of man:

3 You turn people back to dust,

saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight

are like a day that has just gone by,

or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—

they are like the new grass of the morning:

6 In the morning it springs up new,

but by evening it is dry and withered.

Prayer Reflection:

1. Have a few moments of quiet reflection upon God as your dwelling place.
a. God as everlasting
b. God as creator of all
c. God as immortal

2. Reflect on the previous days, weeks, and months of 2019. What has occurred
in your life that has either allowed you to depend on the Lord or to be
distanced from Him?

Moses saw the brevity of human lives in contrast to God’s eternality.

Take this time to just thank God for granting you life, breath, and strength.

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2) Moses continues to express his lament to God: the people were experiencing
God’s anger for their disobedience towards the Lord’s words and their constant
distancing from His ways. They went through trouble and sorrow, groaning and sighing
before God as their sins were exposed in the light of His presence.

Moses knows that life is short. Rather than living apart from God, he then
prays for himself and all the people:

Psalm 90:12-13
12 Teach us to number our days,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, LORD! How long will it be?

Have compassion on your servants.

a) To number our days means to count every day as a precious gift. When
we are reminded of the brevity of life, we gain a heart of wisdom to live
each day in accordance to God’s way.

1. Thank the Lord for every day that he has given you.
• Days with your family
• Days with your friends
• Days with your co-workers
• Days with your fellow Christians

2. Knowing that life may “quickly pass, and we fly away.” (v.10b), is there
anything the Lord has been nudging upon you to be more intentional
about?

Note these down and share it to your support group:

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3) Finally, Moses resets his focus on God—the only One that had permanence
in his life—amidst all that was happening. He learned how to be satisfied in God’s
unfailing love, singing for joy, being glad for the days that had been given, and asking
the Lord to show His marvelous deeds not only to their generation but to the next:

Psalm 90:14-17
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

for as many years as we have seen trouble.

16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,

your splendor to their children.

a) As we have just gone through the Staff Retreat for 2019, is there
anything different about your time with the Lord?

• Pray for and carve out an intentional time of quiet solitude with Jesus in
your busy schedule.

• Plan a personal retreat with you (possibly along with your spouse/family)
this coming month before the busyness of the holiday season seeps in.

• Praise God for all that He has done this year and all that He will do in the
future.

• Prepare for the coming weeks by closing with Moses’ prayer on his work in
light of God’s plans and purposes:

Psalm 90:17
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
[a]

establish the work of our hands for us—

yes, establish the work of our hands.