“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)
The last thing that is going to happen to each of us, and the last thing that most will never discuss at length.
Perhaps after the funeral, after the wake, after the farewells are spoken to those we have not seen for quite some time, after the lights are off and before you fall asleep, a few moments of your own demise may enter into your mind, but they will not last, you will not contemplate that moment that awaits you at length. It is the way that one may die that is pondered, and for those that have been born-again the moment after, but not that door, not the cessation of the flesh.
A good death is what warriors seek, to outlive their purpose in their mind is an unbearable thought, to wax old and become useless in the craft they have honed is incomprehensible to them. While most attempt to live as long as possible, every medical procedure recommended, every pill taken, every order of their physician obeyed, hoping to die in peace in their sleep.
How many of you spend time seeking the Great Physician in prayer for the continuation of your life?
It is common I believe, when physical pain arrives, pain that He allows and sometimes sends that we immediately ask Him to remove.
“Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” (Isaiah 38:5)
Time here my friends is not always spent wisely by those who have been crucified with the Lord.
Has the Almighty told you that His grace is sufficient, that the pain will remain until you take your last breath? Have you suffered in that pain while glorifying Him, and as Job said, “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10) Or have you gone out and purchased the latest book entitled “Why God let’s good people suffer?” Do you keep making appointments at the clinic, accepting whatever potions and pills they prescribe, doing anything and everything they suggest, just to make the pain go away?
Physical pain brings maladies of the mind, it can cause questions that should not be asked, it can cause faith to stumble. It can cause a fear of death.
In my humble opinion, the epitome of service to the Lord is found in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” A life lived devoted to the glory of God, lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ in every action, deed, word and thought, submitting fully to the will of the Holy Spirit no matter the circumstances or the possible consequences to ourselves.
No matter the pain.
Easy to write, easy to contemplate, perhaps not always so easy in those moments.
They offered our Savior a type of painkiller on the cross, He refused, He died in agony that we will never know. “As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:” (Isaiah 52:14)
Your death is approaching, and the wise person, the one who serves the Lord, will contemplate it often, not in the manner that it will arrive, that is completely in God’s hands, and you must trust Him without question in this. But in the way you will face it. In honor to His name or in dishonor.
Do you see your death as gain, do you look forward to that day, do you truly believe that it will be precious in His sight? Or do you still fear to think on it, do you still fear to contemplate your last breath here?
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:21)
To die is gain my friends, believe that with your entire being.
