Daily Perspective

Daily Perspective

On May 25, 1979, Dennis Waitley was running late to catch a flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Los Angeles, where he was scheduled to speak. He knew he was cutting it close to catch American Airlines Flight 191 but when he finally got to the airport his frustration peaked as he learned the jetway had just closed.  Though Waitley begged to be let on, his appeals were ignored and all he could do was helplessly watch the flight leave without him.

This is how author Mark Batterson described the next events of that day in his book, Win the Day. “Out of breath and out of patience, he made his way to the ticket counter to register a complaint and rebook his travel. While he was waiting in line, an announcement came over the airport intercom. AA Flight 191 to Los Angeles had crashed upon takeoff… All 258 passengers, as well as 13 crew members, died in the crash. It was the deadliest aviation accident in United States history.”

Waitley’s realization of how close he came to being on the doomed flight forever changed his life. He realized if he had arrived a few minutes earlier he would have been tragically killed. He quickly forgot about booking another flight but never forgot his ticket. It was so important that he displayed it in a prominent place in his office to remind himself of how close he had come to dying. It was an instant reminder to never forget every day is a gift and could be your last on earth.

That is the perspective found in the oldest psalm in the book of Psalms. “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” (Psalm 90:12, HCSB) In this verse written by Moses, the background of the word, “number” is especially interesting. The term comes from the world of accounting and speaks of someone balancing their books. However, in this context, it has nothing to do with figuring out how much money we have and instead speaks of determining how many days we have left. Moses’ point is how this perspective can help us develop wisdom.

The psalm suggests if we do not realize our days are numbered, we will not live our remaining years wisely. Living as though our earthly days are unlimited is likely to result in a life poorly lived. Just as we need to know our bank balance to know how much we can spend; we also need to be aware our days are limited to live our remaining days well.

This is the reason Waitley saved his ticket from American Flight 191 and also why Moses wrote Psalm 90:12. Make today count since you never know if it will be your last.