A very good friend of mine has entered his final days and has been moved to hospice. He is walking in the shadow of death and his end could come at any moment.
The family has been called in and he is in grave condition. This is a Godly man who has a Godly family and tons of Godly friends, all of whom have been fervently praying for a miraculous recovery. He is young, intelligent, likeable, and he has a beautiful wife and two adorable daughters.
Why do you suppose God has not answered all our prayers and healed this man? God has answered our prayers. The answer was no. He has decided that now is the time for my friend to join Him in heaven. Could God heal my friend? Of course He could, the Bible clearly teaches that nothing is beyond the power of God. Then why will He not intercede?
No one knows but God. We can only guess. God has appointed a time for all of us to die. It is an appointment for which we will not miss or be late. He might allow us a long life free from pain, or a short life filled with pain. We cannot understand God’s plan. We do not have access to the information that He possesses or His plan, and we could not begin to understand it if we did. My friend accepts God’s decision for his fate, and so do I. Would he like to live another thirty years? Of course, but God is calling him home now. Perhaps He has an important project in heaven that He has a need for my friend to manage. Perhaps He just wants the pleasure of his company. Maybe someone will come to know the Lord because of his courage. Perhaps all the above is God’s purpose, or maybe it is something else. As I said before, No one really knows but God.
I have recently started ending all my prayers with, “and please Lord, I pray that Your will be done and not mine. For You know what is best in everything”. I know what I think is best for me, but God knows what is actually best for me and exactly what is needed to fulfill and complete His plan for my life. I trust Him implicitly with that. How much more so should we do likewise when the wisest, fairest, most powerful, and loving God in all creation makes an offer such as this.
I will miss my friend very much for a while down here, but I very much look forward to seeing him again in heaven where we can rejoice together forever. (I asked him to scope out all the good fishing spots before I get there).
John 11:25
I am the resurrection and the life.
“He who believes in me though he may die,
he shall live.
And whoever lives and believes
in Me shall never die”.