How Can Sinful People Find Significance? - Psalm 90

Many people struggle with a sense of insignificance. They feel that their life is meaningless and without contribution. Moses the man of God speaks to this problem by showing that our purpose and significance are found only in our Creator. 

It is always good to give as much consideration to the context of a passage as is possible. The background for Psalm 90 may be found in Numbers chapter 20. I encourage you to keep your place in Psalm 90 while you turn to Numbers 20 with me. Let’s spend a few moments considering what was going on in Moses’ life when he penned this great Psalm. 

• First, we see that Moses’ sister Miriam has died in verse 1. 
• Then we see Moses’ sin in verses 2-21.
• Lastly, Moses’ brother and High Priest Aaron died in verses 22-29.
• Couple all of this with Moses having to preside over possibly a million funerals in his 40 years with them in the dessert (example Numbers 14).

In the midst of such sorrow and pain, it is only natural for a person to question the value of his labors. Such sorrow forces one to meditate on the seeming futility of living. What’s the point? Why bother? are thoughts we must fight from our minds when the dessert of life has grown wearisome. How can we make sense of it all? Where may we rediscover joy? Where can we find value and significance to the daily drudgery?