Most people set goals for themselves, achievements they desire to accomplish, some short term, others much longer. Not all are interconnected and few, I believe have life-long goals, for life changes and few things in this regard are permanent.
There is, in certain places on this planet, only one goal, survival for the day, and as life draws to a close for many, that becomes their only goal, all else that they have spent decades pursuing becomes inconsequential, the singular focus of their life becomes the continuation of it.
“When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.” (Psalm 27:8)
This is the life-long goal of those who have been born-again, and one more day of life here on this planet is not our goal.
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2nd Cor. 5:8)
I have heard true and honest men of God say that they are not in a hurry to die, I have read accounts of their lives when sickness came upon them and the arrival of death for them seemed unavoidable and read of their prayer to be saved from that moment.
It seems a contradiction in terms of this to me.
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1st Cor. 15:55)
The goal, the lifelong pursuit of our lives is Christ, to be in the presence of our Savior eternally, where joy in His presence and pleasures forevermore await us, yet the door we must pass through to obtain that eternity is not only feared by many, but the continuation of life here seems to be the main desire, the goal for some seems to be to live here as long as possible.
I fully understand this in the wicked, they have no assurance of the promises we know are real, I have difficulty understanding these truths when it comes to those who sit in the pews and sing the praises of the Most High, who claim to want nothing more than to be with Him in His presence, yet do all within their power to remain here for as long as possible, who fear to pass through that final door.
If I am correct in the memory of my own life, I have seen that door eleven times, and can even recall asking the Lord once, as Hezekiah did, for more time, not in or for a selfish reason, but for the sake of my beautiful wife, for she had just recently received the blessing of the Holy Spirit, and I wanted to be here to assist her in her beginning walk with our Savior.
Perhaps that is why those men of God I mentioned asked the Almighty for more time as well, I cannot say.
This short letter today is for you if you still fear to pass through that door, if death still brings some form of anxiety in your life, yet you profess that your main goal in life is to be with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I do not have what some like to call their “life verses,” for life constantly changes, evolves towards a closer, more deeply personal relationship with our Savior, but this verse means much to me, and in regard to this topic, should be one that will lessen, if not remove that fear you feel when contemplating that final door.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)
I realize that some of you will say, “It isn’t so much that moment, but how it will arrive,” but I would suggest that they are the same fear, for if you are trusting in Him who has promised, why would your trust be hindered by the way of death that He has chosen for you?
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)
Do not let that final trial, that final door we must all pass through, or thoughts of it, cause your faith to stumble.
