Does God cause it, or just know it?

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Live long and prosper”

Our Bible verse for today: “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Psalm 139:16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Does God cause it, or just know it?

There is a common and widespread misunderstanding about the number of days of life we each get. Some people believe we have no control over that because God has predetermined how long each of us will live. Those people read a verse like Psalm 139:16 and they conclude that God Himself has determined the number of our days and therefore that is how long you will live – regardless of any other circumstances. That kind of thinking is why we sometimes hear people say, “When my number is up, it’s up. God has determined in advance when I will die, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

But I’m not so sure that’s true. “The Old Country Preacher”, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, told the story of the young man who claimed, “Since God Himself has predetermined the number of my days, if I want to, I can go stand in front of a speeding truck on the interstate but if it’s not my day to die then I won’t.” To that Dr. McGee replied, “Son, if you go stand in front of a speeding truck, I can assure you it will be your day to die.”

If that young man did go stand in front of a speeding truck and he did die, would it be because God caused it? Or would it simply be true that God had always known that that young man was going to do that dumb thing on that day and therefore that would be the day he died?

In a similar way, if a person is obese and stays that way for years on end and finally dies from complications of type 2 diabetes, did God determine in advance that the person was to die at a relatively young age, or is it possible that the person could have lived a lot longer if he or she had lost 100 pounds, exercised, and taken better care of themselves?

All Psalm 139:16 says is that all my days were known and recorded in God’s book before one of them was even lived. That speaks to God’s omniscience. He knows all things and therefore He has always known when I will die and why. However, it does not necessarily mean that the number of my days and the cause of my death were predetermined by Him.

God does know the number of our days, but He does not necessarily cause the number of our days. Very often, we are the cause of the number of our days, and it is entirely possible God would have preferred for us to have lived longer and better.

Someday we will all die. For some of us it will be sooner and for others it will be later, but eventually, we will all die. But in the meantime, we have a stewardship responsibility to God to take proper care of our physical body and to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can, remaining available to Jesus to be used by Him for His kingdom-building work here on earth.

To the best of your ability, live long and prosper.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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