Day
10 of 12 Days of Victory
I have been near to death on a number of occasions. A few of them were self-induced as I have struggled
for many years with major depression and also psychosis spawned by Schizophrenia. But there were also 4 instances where major
infections had overtaken me for example, once, when my heart valves and bloodstream were infected and also once, when my spine and brain were infected. Death does not hold any fear for me. I know that I will be present with the Lord,
once I am absent from my body.
Isa
57:1-2 says this:
Good people pass away;
the godly often die before their time.
But no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand
that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
2 For those who follow godly paths
will rest in peace when they die.
the godly often die before their time.
But no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand
that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
2 For those who follow godly paths
will rest in peace when they die.
My future is not a secure one. I have a degenerative
auto immune disease that is destroying my joints at a rapid rate as well as “blessing
me” with a number of auxiliary illnesses.
I will be needing assisted living of some type in the near future. Unfortunately,
we have both too little and too much money to get the aid I will need.
If you read the words of Isa 57 carefully you will
see that an early death for the believer is a great mercy and a gift from God. Please
note: I am NOT saying believers should in any way hasten their own death. It must a gift from God and it should not be feared or rushed. And though we miss those
loved ones who precede us, it should fill us with joy that they are no longer
bound to this earth-body’s suffering.
I was discussing this passage with another believer –
one who suffers a great deal with the same disease I have – and she had some wise
words. She said that God is a good God and that if he didn’t have some
wise reason to keep us here and to cause us to suffer, he would not. I know that God is honored and pleased by
our assent to his purposes and will reward that.
I do want to point out that in Psalms, Proverbs and other books, a long life is considered to be a reward for faithfulness to God. So these verses in Isaiah are not a blanket comment on everyone. I had a friend who was greatly grieving the death of her father, which occurred while they were out boating and a bee stung him. He went into anaphylactic shock and died moments later. She was having such a hard time getting over the shock and apparent randomness of his death. I said to her, "Maybe he had the beginnings of cancer, or maybe, if God hadn't called for him then, that he would have had a painful accident which would leave him disabled."
God knows each of our paths and all the variations on them that may occur. We have to just trust that he is merciful and if a person leads a godly life and there are no other reasons for them to need to have an early death and if, for them, a long life is a blessing, then that is the path God will take. As Billy Graham recently went to be with Jesus after a long and successful life of service to God, no one would say he should have died sooner.
I do want to point out that in Psalms, Proverbs and other books, a long life is considered to be a reward for faithfulness to God. So these verses in Isaiah are not a blanket comment on everyone. I had a friend who was greatly grieving the death of her father, which occurred while they were out boating and a bee stung him. He went into anaphylactic shock and died moments later. She was having such a hard time getting over the shock and apparent randomness of his death. I said to her, "Maybe he had the beginnings of cancer, or maybe, if God hadn't called for him then, that he would have had a painful accident which would leave him disabled."
God knows each of our paths and all the variations on them that may occur. We have to just trust that he is merciful and if a person leads a godly life and there are no other reasons for them to need to have an early death and if, for them, a long life is a blessing, then that is the path God will take. As Billy Graham recently went to be with Jesus after a long and successful life of service to God, no one would say he should have died sooner.
So basically, it is, once again, a question of us
coming to terms with God’s gentle question “Do you trust Me?” I know my Jesus,
well enough to know, that his ways are the best ways and if he calls me to
suffer in this life, then I can know that what he has waiting for me is by far
better and worth any pain or hardship I have to go through here on Earth. However, I can, and I will, ask God end this
suffering soon and I will trust that he will do what is best—for everyone involved.
Prayer Focus: Ask God to give you assurance that he will use every minute you have left in this body. Yield to his plans and wishes for you and trust in his goodness to endure the challenges ahead of you. Seek his comfort regarding your loved ones who have gone ahead of you.
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