May 9, 2025 Piddling and Purpose
Friday, May 9, 2025
Piddling and Purpose
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom…
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!
Psalm 90:12, 17, ESV
I sat down to write a devotional on Psalm 90—and promptly piddled away two hours. Once, I saw piddling as a waste. Until I remembered a Southern Living article by Rick Bragg, who described piddling not as rest or work, but as a kind of art:
If one piddles correctly, time just goes away,
without regret on the part of the piddler, or even any particular notice.
One does not march off to piddle. One meanders.*
I meandered. After comparing scriptural translations, I wandered to straighten a picture hanging askew. That led to reorganizing a bookshelf by author and color, then flipping through a well-loved chapter in an old favorite. Somewhere in that quiet wandering, time disappeared.
Psalm 90, the oldest in the collection and penned by Moses, invites us to live with holy awareness. The Hebrew word for establish—kuwn—means to set up firmly, confirm, or order in a way that lasts (Strong’s #3559). Moses pleads with God to anchor our fleeting days in purpose, to steady our hands so that what we build endures beyond us and glorifies or magnifies His name to others.
Piddling, I’ve learned, isn’t always aimless but the path through which God establishes the work of our hands. Piddling is my way of clearing space—mentally and spiritually, of letting the message percolate. As the clutter falls away, what remains is what matters. The words come, shaped not by frantic effort on a deadline but by a soul that has quietly brewed a flavorful cup of His Word for life today.
Piddling is God at work, establishing (or setting up firmly) my work in me and through me such that it will last—meandering that ultimately orders His Word into a message with meaning.
Reflect: How do you make space, or piddle, to give God time to establish your work—firmly, not frantically?
Pray: Sovereign God, who appoints and calls me to His work, teach me to live aware of time’s preciousness. Set the work of my hands in You such that it is relevant and lasting in bringing You glory. Whether I move quickly or slowly, let it be with peace and intention to glorify You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria Ashby
Lay Leader
*Rick Bragg, The Fine Art of Piddling, Southern Living, December 21, 2011.