The Inevitable

I just had a birthday.  Yep.  ANOTHER one!  The numbers are getting pretty high.  My grandkids’ eyes pop out when they inquire as to my age, and I have to admit to such a big number.  After all, when you’re 10, 8, 6 and 4, a year is a huge portion of your life so far.  For me, it’s a blur.

The longer I live, the closer I am to death.  It doesn’t necessarily have to announce its arrival.  I have thought long and hard about how it might show up.  Of course, when you’re old and retired you have more time to mull things over.  To wonder and to fret.  Many times in this process, I have reminded myself of how God has taken care of my loved ones in their final days and that He will be with me as well.  “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5).

One of the daily devotionals I’m reading this year is The One Year Christian History which is both educational and enlightening.  One that spoke to me was about Thomas Jonathan Jackson who earned the nickname “Stonewall” when he led his brigade to stand firm in the first battle of Bull Run in the 1860s.  When asked how he could stay so calm in the face of such fierce attacks, his answer was stunning in its simplicity:  “My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed.”

A friend in his 80s struggled with wanting to make “one last trip” to visit family.  Realizing his age was a factor in his ability to drive the long distance alone, he vacillated for quite some time.  Finally, one day he announced to his buddies that he had decided to take the trip, commenting, “And, if I die, I die.”

The God who gave us life knows our days.  He hasn’t failed us yet.  Death is inevitable.  Before it comes, the most important decision anyone can make is  “Did Jesus really die for me? Do I believe that and trust Him for what’s to come?  In this life and in the next?”  Don’t ignore the inevitable.  Prepare for it and then trust Him.

“…for if we live, we live for the Lord, if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore, if we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”  (Romans 14:8)

“For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said, ‘In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.’ ”  (Isaiah 30:15)