Daily Devotional for Friday August 31, 2001

The Reality of Death

(Genesis 2:17)

One of the most difficult things I deal with in my ministry are people who have lost someone they love. There are never any words to ease the pain, and it is difficult, knowing how much they are hurting inside. One of the most difficult questions I get almost daily, is why didn't God heal someone. Why did he let that person die. Again, there is no real answer to that question. I want to take a few minutes today to try and put life and death in context for you. I want to try and explain the sovereign will of God to you the best I can. This will not make the pain you feel over the loss of a loved one any less. It will not stop you from questioning God when you pray in faith and someone is not healed. However, I pray that it will give you a better perspective, maybe a new way to look at these issues so that in the future they will make more sense.

All the way back in Genesis, God explained to man who had been created to live forever, that one of the consequences of disobedience would be physical death. Again, it is important to understand, that God made man to not die. After man's sin, physical death now became part of the human condition. As a side, many mock the fact the Bible talks of men living to be 500 years old, 400 years old. The do not understand that once physical death was introduced, because sin had yet to invade every element of man's world, he still enjoyed, by our standards, a very long life. You will notice that those years became more of what we are accustomed to after the great flood. Regardless of the number of years we are on this earth, every human will one day die. It is inevitable. We can not escape that event in our life, unless Christ returns and we are taken up to be with Him.

Obviously, the death of a child is very difficult. When a young adult dies, it is difficult. The Bible talks about the age of 70 being a full life. So it is difficult to see someone die before they had a chance to live a full life. The fact is we live in a sin-infested world. There are countless diseases, many have punished their bodies in various ways over the years, and the simple fact is our bodies eventually give out. To be honest with you, it is amazing to me how long we do live. When you stop to think about how intricate our bodies are, and how one problem here or one problem there can mean death, it is really amazing we live as long as we do. What I am trying to say is death is not only inevitable, but really should not be a surprise. Looking at it in a very practical sense, we should really NOT be surprised when someone dies, since it is part of the human condition and something we all must face. Now let me talk about the sovereign will of God and tie this all together for you. We must never forget what this life is all about, what our purpose is. Our purpose is to serve and glorify God with our lives. God has given each of us talents and gifts. He has a plan for each one of us. Only God knows what it is He wants to accomplish through our lives. I firmly believe that when our work here is finished, God allows us to leave this temporary world for the eternity we will share with Him. We are simply here to serve our Creator, and when our work is finished, we get to return to Him. The wild-card is He knows when our work is over, we don't. Our job, our responsibility, is to work hard each day, be faithful to what it is He has given us to do in this life, and live each day to the fullest, treating it as the gift from God it is. Since we don't know when our work is over, work as though it is never over. God will let you know. I believe that the reason some people are healed and God allows some to die, is for the simple fact He still has things to accomplish through the life that lives, and the one He allows to die has completed their tasks and gets to go be with Him. Does that mean since it is pre-destined, we quit praying? NO! God has told us to pray in faith, believing. He knows the outcome, we don't, so we are to be obedient. Remember, God isn't keeping score how many times your prayers are answered...He is keeping score how many times you are faithful and obedient. Even though your prayer may not be answered as you wanted, the purpose may have been for God to see how faithful you would be. I love you and care about you so much. I know these are tough words for you to read today. For many, who have recently lost a loved one, they may be especially difficult. I apologize for that. However, I think it is very important we try to look at the big picture to help us understand why things happen the way they do. Of course, the bottom line to this entire Devotional is that none of us knows the day God will call us home. That is why the bible says "today is the day of salvation". We must not hesitate in making the most important decision we have to make in this life...where we will spend eternity. For those who aren't sure of your eternal destination, go to my website, www.liveprayer.com/SPlan.html and click on the "Salvation." Listen to it. For those who have the assurance that when God says your work is finished, you have a mansion in Heaven waiting for you. You can now understand why it is so important for us to be about our Father's business each day. Why it is important for us to not let the cares of this world bog us down and keep us from fulfilling the purpose God has given us for this life...to serve Him. I will be praying for you today, to open your heart and know that regardless what things may look like in the natural, God will always have the final word. Because of sin, death is part of our world. But Jesus said, "be of good cheer, for I have overcome this world". AMEN!!!