What have I done?
Psalm 139:13-18
I was perplexed this week by some sad news. A beautiful young woman whom I know passed away tragically at only 18 years of age. She was a Christian, raised in a Christian home and she had a loving family with brothers and sisters. I knew her when she was a little girl. Our families spent time together going to the cottage and having bon fires.
She was the victim of a car accident and her life ended abruptly leaving her family and friends devastated by the loss. The question came to my mind - What have I done?
Have I accomplished all that I am supposed to in this life or have I left some things undone? Did this young woman leave this earth too soon, were there things she was yet to do? Did she die before her time? Can we die before our time?
John 19:30 NIV
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
Revelation 21:6: 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Mark 3:35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
These verses speak of completeness or finished work. They speak of the will of God.
What I am really pressing you to is - has life mattered - have we finished what we are supposed to finish - have we completed Gods will for our life?
This young lady’s death made me wonder if it is possible to die before our time. Is it possible that we can be taken before our time?
The answer is difficult to reason and I found myself searching the scriptures for a foothold. I remembered some reference to how God knew us even before we were born and how He knows way ahead of us what our life will be all about and just when it will end.
Yes in scripture I was able to find the answer in Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
Psalm 139:16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
It is in verse 16 that I found my answer. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
So there you have it. We do not die before our time we die according to Gods time. The length of our days on this earth is ordained by God.
While our loved ones may grieve our departure and the loss of our physical company we do not leave to soon or too late. God is the one who has wound the clock that is our life.
Our creator has designed our life in such a way that His will is carried out through it. Our Heavenly Father so fashions our days that they involve every minute detail He wishes to accomplish.
It is God who causes us to interact with this person or that person it is God who leads us towards one path or another.
We see this fact evidenced in Jesus life. There were times when his own brothers wanted Jesus to go to one town or another but Jesus refused and told them plainly it is not time.
John 7:3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.
John 7:4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.
John 7:5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
John 7:6 Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.
Even the demons knew that God has a time for every thing set down.
Mat 8:29 What do you want with us, Son of God? They shouted. Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?
Jesus mentions that the events of his life are framed by time in at least 18 different verses in the book of Matthew alone.
It seems that our time on this earth can neither be too short nor too long. That thought got me to wonder about the elderly. They grow frail and sick and sometimes loose their memory and worse. Still God leaves them with us. It is because it is not their time.
It could be that they remain so that we can learn to respect them or so that we can learn compassion and patience by caring for them. There may be a million different reasons why people with great physical hardships remain both young and old but we are not to judge if it is better for them to remain or go. It is for God to call them at their appointed time.
While our heart breaks when we lose someone dear to us we must realize that their time had come according to Gods will. We must not give in to what might have been or what we think should have been for it is all in Gods hands and it all serves God’s great and mysterious purpose.
Our comfort comes in knowing that when we live following Gods will we will one day be reunited with our loved ones who rest in Christ Jesus. God placed into each one of us an eternal soul which is His to reclaim when He sees fit. Let us trust our soul to Gods care and use the time He has given us to carry out His will. When my soul returns to God it will be the right time.
