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Posts tagged with 'It Is Well with My Soul'
Get Ready!
A friend recently told me, “Although I’m a Christian, I’m not ready to die.” My initial thought was, How can someone be saved and on their way to Heaven and yet not ready and even eager to go there?
Over a month ago, I contracted COVID and had the opportunity to examine my own heart on this subject. I had a light case so I was not on the verge of death, but I thought of the people who thought they were fine and then died of a heart attack, and this concerned me. Was I ready to die suddenly if that were God’s will and, if not, why?
For many people, I expect that they know they are not ready to meet Jesus because they are not living a pure life here on earth. Sin causes people to be terrified of meeting their maker. If this is the reason you don’t want to die, I implore you to repent and do whatever you need to do to be ready for Heaven. Even without COVID, there is no guarantee that you will still be here tomorrow.
For those who are young and living for the Lord, I think what is not being expressed is a nagging feeling that their work is not yet finished. They do not want to arrive in Heaven empty-handed, and they feel like they would be doing just that if they were to die at an age that they deem to be premature. If this is your concern, only God knows if that is true or not. Whenever He calls you Home, your feelings are irrelevant. Your readiness to meet Jesus is all that matters. However, the feeling that you have more work to do should inspire you to get busy and do whatever God is laying on your heart while you still have life to do so. If you don’t know what your calling is, ask Him. Take as much time as you need to get an answer and then do it. Once you get to Heaven, it will be too late to say, “But, Lord, I didn’t ____________.” His response might be, “What did you do with the time that I gave you?”
The older a Christian gets, the more they long for Heaven and wonder why God leaves them on Earth so long. But young people often don’t feel “ready.” The fact is that it doesn’t matter if you feel ready or not. People die every day at all ages. In Matthew 5:23, Jesus tells us, “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” We need to be ready!
As usual, I am preaching to myself too. It is easy to fritter time. Dealing with adrenal fatigue, I have gotten in ruts where I do more mindless things than profitable work, but I am praying to be faithful. I want to be the best editor I can be; the best sister, friend, and aunt; one who points others to Jesus in everything that I do; and one who lives the life that I tell others to live.
I encourage you today to determine whether or not you are ready to die. It goes beyond just lip service of being a Christian. If you knew you were going to die tonight, would you go in peace knowing that you have faithfully served the Lord and done His will to the best of your knowledge? Or would you beg Him not to take you yet because there is too much you need to do or repent of? I pray that all true Believers will be able to sing with Horatio Spafford:
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight
The cloud be rolled back as the scroll
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend
Even so, it is well with my soul!