I have two friends who have been quite ill lately. As far as I know both do not have any test results yet and thus don’t know the cause of their illnesses or the prognosis. That’s a bad way to be living, being unsure of whether you’re seriously ill or not. Being unsure of the future can be extremely stressful. Not knowing whether there’s a cure for what you have isn’t a joke at all. I am praying that both of them will be quickly healed. Nothing is impossible and God is our healer. In 1995 we were involved in a serious motor accident. My son was 3 and spent a month in the hospital. I witnessed so much heartache while I was with him in the hospital. One specific case that I remember was a 3 year old who was diagnosed with brain cancer. I saw the devastation on the faces of his young parents and his grandmother. How do you live with a diagnosis like that? How do you smile and enjoy the time you have left with your precious child?
Is there really a difference between having a doctor tell you that you might die, and just living everyday life. The difference is the way you think about it. The truth is anyone of us can be involved in a fatal accident of whatever kind at any given moment. We could walk over the street and be run over by a truck. Just like that! And then it would be the end for us. We wouldn’t have had a chance to make any preparations or say goodbye. Life is like that. Are there special things you would like to do before you die? Lots of people have a bucket list. I must confess that I had to google ‘bucket list’ the first time I heard the term. How long are you going to wait before you make a bucket list, or how long are you going to wait until you start on your bucket list? I suppose we all have a bucket full of things we would like to do but haven’t the time or the money to get them done.
Psalm 56:8, “You number my wanderings; Put my tears in a bottle; Are they not in Your book?” A strange verse but when you think about it I think that David is saying that God sees and remembers all our sorrow. Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they are all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as et there were none of them.” Job 14:5, “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.” These verses tell that God knows how long we are going to live. Nothing we do is going to make any difference. Worrying definitely won’t extend your lifespan. Matthew 6:27 and Luke 12:25 both say, “And which of you by being anxious can add one hour to his span of life?” So we definitely won’t worry ourselves better.
And earth isn’t our final destination anyway. Philippians 3:17-21 in the Message, “Stick with me friends, keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their Gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’s make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.
I am not trying to minimize anyone’s illness or suffering. It is real and it can be extremely painful, physically and emotionally. I also know how parents suffer when their children are sick. I just think that whatever our circumstances we should have our eyes on our final destination, which is heaven. We should try not to worry and try to put more joy into our lives. I have heard of so many people who have consciously decided not to accept a medical diagnosis which sounded like a death sentence and lived many more productive years. At the end of the day only God knows how long we will live, not the doctors. We have to put all our faith in God and live life the best way we know how.
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