“But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And He rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into His heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:17-18 NLT)
On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed amid heavy rush-hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people, two of whom were never found. Why do I mention that? Because one year earlier I crossed that same bridge during that same season and at that same time of day. I sat on it while it swayed and shook under the load of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Still not sure why I mentioned it? Here’s why! On December 15, 1967, the day it fell, I was traveling from Anderson, Indiana to South Charleston, West Virginia on that same U. S. Route 35 for Christmas break from college, the exact same route I’d followed one year earlier.
The route that would have taken me across that bridge at that time. I could well have been on the Silver Bridge that fateful night; however, due to a friend who needed a ride, I took a different route that kept me off that bridge. Coincidence, or the hand of God? Another time I was driving late at night on what seemed to be wet streets when all of a sudden, though I wasn’t traveling at a high rate of speed, the car spun around, crashed through about a 2-3 foot high wall of snow that separated the lanes and launched me across two oncoming lanes.
When I came to rest, I was facing the same way I had been traveling but was off the road on the opposite side of the 4-lane road. Instinctively, I opened the door to assess any damage, only to hear the roar of the river passing several feet below, inches from where the car came to rest. Another foot and I would have been in that river having toppled down a 20-30 foot embankment. Coincidence or the hand of God?
What do these instances from my life have to do with anything? Quite a lot I believe. Obviously, I’m not unique in having what might have been “near death” experiences, but my point is, God has appointed to us a specific time to die and, as His child, we’re not going to die one second before that time. Why is that important to know? Because as long as the Lord has work for us, He’ll keep us around, but when the work is done or He sees we’re no longer interested in carrying out His work, we’re toast, we can go at any second.
When is our work done? Whenever He decides. Some people’s work is done at birth or before. One might think, “What a waste to have an infant die before birth,” but certainly not if their brief existence on earth, and their eternal life in heaven gave their parents, grandparents, or someone else in their life an incentive to come to Jesus. We don’t always know what our mission is, thus, we can’t know for sure when it’s complete. My calling was Pastoral Ministry, but my mission has extended far beyond my years of active Pastoring.
Don’t confuse your mission with your vocation, though they will likely be connected. The Lord has use for your gifts in multiple ways and can open doors of opportunity for you to be useful to Him on many levels. The Psalmist reminds us in 139:16: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Will the number of our days be completed today? Perhaps, it certainly will be for many, but the point is not to fret or worry about our end, the point is, be useful every second of every day until that end comes. Idleness is sin. We must be about our Father’s business until He decides it’s the end of our days.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 