Don't Waste the Dash God Has Given You

The dash is that little line between a birth date and a death date, but it carries everything a person does with the life God gave them. The dash holds childhood, family, friends, work, victories, failures, laughter, tears, faith, and every decision. The dates on either side are not under human control, but the life lived in between them carries real responsibility.

Moses, in Psalm 90, puts that dash in perspective. God has been the dwelling place through all generations, while human life is like grass that comes up in the morning and fades by evening. Life is short, even when it reaches seventy or eighty years, and it goes by faster than anybody expects. Moses does not ask God to help people count years. Moses asks God to teach them to number their days so they can gain a heart of wisdom.

The temptation of someday wastes a whole lot of the dash. Someday says faith can get serious later, family can get more attention later, forgiveness can happen later, and serving can start later. But someday is not on the calendar. Today is what God gives, and today is where a dad loves his kids, a person makes an apology, somebody forgives, and a believer uses the gift God gave them.

The ladder of success can also lean against the wrong wall. Solomon had wealth, possessions, and everything most people chase, yet he called it vanity and striving after wind. Earthly stuff, popularity, politics, old hurts, and trying to impress people who are not even paying attention can eat up the dash. Every yes costs a piece of that dash, so intentional living means paying attention to what is actually taking that time.

Jesus must sit at the center of the dash. A life can be full of memories, hobbies, accomplishments, and success, yet still miss the one thing that matters most. Paul says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” because Christ gives both life and death their meaning. The rich fool built bigger barns and prepared everything except his soul, and God called him a fool because his life was required that very night.

The dash is still being written for every person still taking air. Jesus can forgive a broken life, straighten a crooked dash, and put a person on the road that leads to heaven. The prayer of Moses remains the right prayer at the end of every day: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Key Takeaways

• 1. Make the days actually count Moses asks for wisdom through numbered days, not vague plans for better years ahead. Life changes when today becomes the place for obedience instead of someday. The shortness of life is not meant to create panic but to make every ordinary day matter before God. [45:30]
• 2. Stop wasting the dash Possessions, popularity, old offenses, and the need to impress others can take up expensive real estate in the mind and heart. Solomon found that a life spent chasing those things becomes striving after wind. The dash needs an honest look at what will still matter when life is over. [47:35]
• 3. Live on purpose, not sleepwalking Intentional faith does not happen by accident because the flesh will always pull life away from what is right. Love needs to be spoken, forgiveness needs to begin, gifts need to be used, and service needs a first step. One decision can start changing the whole direction of a life. [50:49]
• 4. Put Jesus at the center A successful life without Christ is still a wasted dash. The rich fool prepared barns, finances, and a future, but he did not prepare his soul. Christ alone makes it possible to say that living is Christ and dying is gain. [56:07]
• 5. Let Jesus straighten the dash A crooked dash does not have to stay crooked. Jesus receives people right where they are, forgives what is broken, and turns them toward eternity. The right time to surrender to Christ is not someday but today. [1:02:48]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [33:33] - What Are You Doing With Your Dash?
• [34:28] - Learning the Dash on the Track
• [35:51] - Birth Date, Death Date, and the Dash
• [38:57] - Moses’ Prayer in Psalm 90
• [41:04] - Life Is Short
• [42:23] - Number Days, Not Just Years
• [45:30] - Make Every Day Count
• [46:48] - Stop Wasting the Dash
• [49:26] - Live Intentionally
• [51:51] - Someday Is Not on the Calendar
• [53:58] - Put Jesus at the Center
• [56:32] - The Rich Fool and His Bigger Barns
• [58:56] - The Dash Is Still Being Written
• [1:01:20] - Straighten the Dash Today

1. In Psalm 90, what pictures does Moses use to show how brief human life is compared with God’s everlasting nature? [40:19]
2. What does Moses ask God to teach His people, and what does he say that lesson produces? [40:44]
3. What are some of the things that can take up a person’s “dash” without lasting value? [47:13]
4. In the rich fool’s story, what had the man prepared, and what had he failed to prepare? [58:22]

1. Psalm 90 does not simply call people to count years but to number their days. What is the difference between those two ways of thinking, and why might daily awareness lead to wisdom? [42:21]
2. Philippians 1:21 connects living with Christ and dying with gain. What does that reveal about what should be at the center of a believer’s life now?
3. Why is the rich man in Luke 12 called a fool even though his crops, finances, and plans appeared successful? What does it mean to be rich toward God? [57:47]
4. The desire for possessions, popularity, revenge, or impressing others can become “striving after wind.” Why do these things so easily feel important, even when they cannot truly satisfy? [48:38]

1. What is one area where “someday” has become an excuse—faith, family, forgiveness, service, or a needed change? What could a faithful first step look like this week? [51:51]
2. Every yes costs a piece of the dash. What commitments, habits, worries, or distractions are taking more of your time and attention than they should? Is there one “yes” you may need to reconsider? [49:17]
3. Is there someone who needs to hear that you love them, receive an apology from you, or be forgiven by you? What would it take to begin that conversation instead of putting it off? [51:06]
4. In what ways might success, comfort, work, possessions, or public approval be pulling your heart away from Jesus? What would it look like to put Christ back at the center of that area? [56:32]
5. If the people closest to you described the most important thing about your life, what would you hope they would say? What daily choices could help make that true? [55:49]
6. Jesus meets people in broken and crooked places, forgives them, and turns them toward eternity. Is there any part of your life you need to bring honestly to Him today rather than waiting for a better time? [01:02:48]