Life is a gift, and every day that you wake up is a victory over the enemy. No matter how insignificant, painful, or meaningless today may be, if you are alive, the Lord has a purpose in it. So when you struggle to see his purposes, trust that every breath is a triumph over the darkness.
Most Christians feel that death isn’t the hard part; it’s just getting there.
You know how it is. An elderly loved one lingers, struggling with pain, and you wonder, “Why, Lord? Why don’t you just take this precious one home?” Well hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and you’ve sat by the bedside of a loved one and felt the same, I’m sure. Maybe it was a friend with terminal cancer. Or disease ravaged your sister’s body, mind, and spirit. Or right now, you could be sitting vigil next to your aging parent who’s struggling to “let go.” Why does the Lord let these precious ones linger on when it seems pointless?
I thought about this last Sunday when, after the Sunday service, I stopped to greet Ron, an elderly church member in a wheelchair. He had been ill for some time and I had missed seeing him on Sundays. When I asked how he was faring, he groaned, “I don’t know why the Lord still has me living. I don’t see the point; I just wish he’d take me home to heaven.”
My heart went out to Ron. Because at times in the past, I have felt exactly the same way. Or maybe you have an aging friend – a Christian, even – who thinks the same. But let’s take a minute and temper our feelings with a few facts. First, every single day has been foreordained by God before the foundation of the world; all of them – every hour, every minute of every day – has been written in God's book, as it says in Psalm 139. That, plus God is the one giving us breath, keeping us alive; it’s the Lord who keeps anyone alive.
Genesis 2:7 says, “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Friend, every day God breathes into us his breath of life. It is a gift. God loves life. And this means Satan hates life. From the beginning, he is out to destroy it. So in a way that I cannot understand or explain, every day that you and I draw a breath is a victory over Satan. And when finally, the Lord removes his breath, God's purposes will have been completed. And every being in the cosmos will know about it!
Many years ago, Corrie ten Boom said the same thing. And she said it as a 90-year-old who had been bedridden for some time. Her life of prayer was nowhere near as lengthy as it had been; her days were not filled with activity; things had really slowed down. But from her bed, Corrie insisted that each day we live – no matter how seemingly pointless, or painful, or insignificant – each day is a conquest; it is a triumph over Satan, the destroyer of life. The breath of life in a person is an act of cosmic victory. We may not be able to see or understand God’s purposes, but it would be futile to argue with him. And somehow these excruciatingly slow days for my church friend Ron are winning for him an eternal reward that, although different, is no less meaningful than other victories he gained when he was younger and healthier. And this is what I ended up telling Ron; I said, “Sir, the prayers you pray right now, no matter how weak and faint, those prayers possess great, great, great power with the Lord because they’re offered in sacrifice, sir.”
And that’s a good word for you today, too, if you are struggling with purpose in life. Friend, gain a victory against your adversary today; push the kingdom of Christ out into this dark world with your prayers. It’s a great reason for living.
© Joni and Friends