Numbering Our Days

“Thou dost turn us back into dust, and dost say, “Return, O children of men.” Psalm 90:3

A cool misty rain was falling when we buried Cande this morning, a week after her ‘promotion’. Being much closer to the equator, we only get a few days of cool temperatures. Today was one of them. During the funeral service in an outdoor pavilion, sweaters and jackets were brought out.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” Psalm 116:15

Cande was just 2 months shy of being an official senior citizen (age 60). For the past 3 years, she had dedicated her life as one of my team members, using her business to expand God’s kingdom, sharing the gospel with family and friends. Last Friday, 2 days before Christmas, we had a fellowship for our house church leaders. Of the 40+ in attendance, I counted about a third of them were there because of Cande. Many others have been baptized and made a part of God’s eternal family through her influence.

“Good people are taken away, but no one understands. Those who do right are being taken away from evil and are given peace. Those who live as God wants find rest in death.” Isaiah 57:1-2

When a Christian dies before his expected time, questions often surface. “Why did he/she die still young?” “Why would God take away such a good person?” Or, in Cande’s case, living in a Roman Catholic country, “Did God take her away because she became a Baptist!” But such naive questions ignore an important truth: God determined the length of our lives ahead of time, before we were born.

“All the days planned for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16

Each of us has been given a set number of days upon this earth, and we can do nothing to add to them. Even Jesus said, “All your worries cannot add a single moment to your life” Matt. 6:27. We can, however, make our life shorter. The number of our days can be reduced through poor nutrition, harmful habits, lack of exercise, wrong attitudes, or obvious sins such as suicide. But no number of good deeds, pious prayers, or righteous works can add one day to what God has already determined.

“The length of our lives is decided beforehand – the number of months we will live. You, Lord, have settled it, and it can’t be changed.” Job 14:5

So the question is not, “How can I make my life longer?” for that we cannot do. But the question should be, “What will I do with the days I have been given?” Cande learned to count each day as an opportunity to put Jesus first in her life. And for that, she just finished enjoying her best Christmas ever, receiving faith-earned, heavenly gifts that she will treasure for eternity. As we enter a new year, what will we do with the days we have left?

“So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12