Today we conclude our time in Psalm 90 with verses 13 through 17. Let’s read together:

13 

Return, O Lord! How long?

    Have pity on your servants!

14 

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

    and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 

Let your work be shown to your servants,

    and your glorious power to their children.

17 

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!

Does not all or a portion of that prayer sound like a prayer you or I could have prayed? 

The word “Return,” as Moses used it in verse 13, carries the idea of “turn again – or turn from your anger and show us the light of your countenance.” After all, in the earlier verses, Moses had reflected on the brevity of life, but he also reflected on the judgment of God against the Israelites that required them to wander for 40 years in the wilderness. 

There’s no question that, at times, Moses must have felt like his work was pointless, fruitless, and in vain. 

However, this portion of Moses’ prayer does not indicate that Moses has given up, but instead that he’s reaching out to the One who hears His people… the One who will answer his call.

I think that’s one of the lessons for me in this portion of Psalm 90. Often, as shepherd leaders, we can feel that our work is futile, that our service is overlooked, and our sacrifice is unappreciated or unrewarded. But we must remember that whatever we do for the Father is never overlooked, or forgotten, or for naught. 

Although we must not shepherd well for the reward it may bring, Peter tells us that whatever the Lord does not compensate for here on earth, will, in fact, be compensated in Heaven. 

Be encouraged by that and may you live deeply into your calling.