I used to think that “midlife crisis” was simply a made-up
term, but I’m changing my mind as I find myself there. It may be different for
other people, but here are some things I’ve been wrestling with lately. There
are no new milestones ahead. We grow up anticipating birthdays, school terms,
graduations, marriage, career, etc., but we reach a point where things are
settled into a fairly unchanging routine. Those who have children have an extra
set of milestones to plan for, but the rest of us do not. There are slight
variations in the routine from month to month, but the years ahead look very
much like the years just past. And they stretch out like an unending parade
into the future.
Routine can be comfortable, but it can also be boring. I can
see why people might quit their jobs, buy cars, or do something else to shake
things up. The options are more limited for those of us who are committed to a
particular ministry, church, or location. There may be new hobbies to try (if
you are so inspired) or places to go (if you have money and desire to travel),
but what else? You can only read so many books or watch so much TV.
As I was thinking about these things, it occurred to me that
there are a lot of time gaps in Scripture. Consider the time Israel spent
wandering in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. We know it was
forty years and we know a few of the events during that time, but all the stops
of their journey are summarized very briefly in Numbers 33. What occupied their
time all the rest of the days? They had forty years of collecting manna six
days a week. Forty years of feeding their families and caring for their herds.
Forty years of checking to see if the pillar of fire or the cloud was going to
move. Forty years of gathering together for worship or for funerals. In short,
forty years of routine activities.
There are many other silent periods as well. More than 900
years of Adam’s life. Moses’s years tending sheep. Almost thirty years of the
life of Christ. We probably have more detail about the life and travels of the
Apostle Paul than anyone else in Scripture. But what were Peter and John doing
during that same time? Life is usually pretty routine for most people most of
the time.
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of
wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 ESV). Alistair Begg commented
on this verse,
“You see, this is not a
mathematical request. This is not the psalmist saying, ‘Help me to count.’ You
know, ‘Help me to know that Tuesday comes after Monday… and to multiply it by
the number of years I’ve lived,’ and so on. No, he’s not saying that. It’s not
even an actuarial request. He’s not suggesting here that somehow or another he
might be brought to understand and calculate the statistics of survival. No,
the key word is ‘aright’… What he is saying, when you read the whole psalm, is
this: ‘Teach me to go through my life estimating time in light of eternity.’ ”
It seems in our culture that we measure the value of our
lives by our accomplishments. And when there are no major achievements to
record, life can feel monotonous and even purposeless. We don’t handle boredom
well, and silence is practically unheard of. (No pun intended.) Kids grow up
thinking that life will be full of constant entertainment and excitement, and
they are unprepared for the realities of a working life. Job-hopping is
becoming more common and more frequent, with the average tenure at a job being
less than five years.
So what do we do when life becomes mundane? We can start
with the prayer from Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days,” asking God to
help us evaluate our daily lives from an eternal perspective. It may be that
some change is needed if our current priorities don’t align with His. But
assuming that is not the case, we can move on to verse 14, “Satisfy us in the
morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our
days.” Perhaps we need to cultivate a heart of gratitude by taking time each
day to remember some of the ways God has blessed us. Or maybe we can challenge
ourselves and others to dig deeper in God’s Word, to memorize Scripture, and to
invest more time in prayer. Setting new goals is one way to press forward and
not to settle for the status quo. We can also look for small ways that we can
serve and bless others in our church or community. If we’re going to spend
eternity relating to God and to those who are members of His Body, we might as
well practice that now.
“For a thousand years
in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night…
The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet
their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone as we fly away… Let the
favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon
us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:4, 10, 17).
© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are
copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect
the views of my church or employer.
