Psalm 90:13-17
Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
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.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
This passage has three movements we would do well to notice:
Waiting honestly in the middle of a difficult season.
Beginning each day grounded in God’s unfailing love.
Asking God to establish our work for the sake of the next generation.
As parents, we often think about giving our kids an inheritance that includes money, property, or some other material gift. To the extent that you are able to provide that kind of inheritance, that is a wonderful thing.
But even if you cannot provide that kind of inheritance, you are still leaving another kind. And even if you can provide the financial inheritance, you are leaving this one too.
Your kids are always watching you. They watch how you celebrate good times. They pay attention to how you walk through hard times. More than that, they are learning. They will borrow some of your patterns for their own adult lives. In that sense, your way of living becomes part of their inheritance.
So one of the questions Psalm 90 puts before us is this: what kind of inheritance are we leaving? The psalm does not promise an easy life. It tells the truth about real life, and real life can be hard. Diagnosis, job loss, broken relationships, grief, disappointment, and worry are all part of this one beautiful life we have been given.
That is why the second movement matters so much: “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love.” In difficult seasons, I know how easy it is to begin the day by relying on my own grit, or by going negative and getting bitter. Psalm 90 gives us another way to begin. Before we pick up our responsibilities, before we carry our worries, before we try to establish the work of our hands, we ask God to establish us in love.
Then the final movement reminds us that our lives are never an end in themselves. God’s work in us is always meant to become a gift through us. We are setting groundwork, modeling faith, and leaving patterns for the people who come after us. If you are a parent, that includes your children. But it is not only parents who leave an inheritance.
The same is true in every season and setting. If you manage people, your direct reports are watching you. If you serve in public life, your community is watching you. If you are a friend, your friends are watching. If you are a Christian, someone is learning something about the love of God by watching your life.
So what do you want them to see? What would you like them to carry from your life into theirs? Psalm 90 invites us to leave behind more than memories or possessions. It invites us to leave a witness: people who waited on God in hardship, began each morning in God’s love, and trusted God to establish the work of their hands.
– Pr. Jason
God, satisfy me in the morning with your unfailing love. When life is hard, teach me to wait honestly and hopefully with you. Establish the work of my hands, not only for my sake, but for the sake of the people who are watching and the generations coming after me. Let my life become an inheritance of faith, hope, and love. Amen.
