A Complete Dependance
“If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together; and man would return to dust.” Job 34:14,15
We do not belong to ourselves. Our life is not ours; it is not due to the good functioning of our vital organs that we are kept in life, but only to God’s grace who sustains us through the power of His Spirit. “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 3..3 :4) How many people live many years in spite of the fact that they may have a feeble heart, a single kidney, unhealthy lungs, clogged arteries, and even terfi1inaL diseases? Although the power of darkness is the one who holds the scythe of. death in its hands, he cannot make use of this power the Almighty God entitles him to do so. “God ‘s grace can plead for long with a soul in the hope that it will surrender to His love. The Scriptures tell us that life is given to us for a certain concrete period of time and with a certain precise purpose: “He… has determined :their preappointed times and boundaries of their habitation so that they should seek the Lord… “(Acts 17:26, 27) Job knew this very well and declares; “Since his days are determined, the number of his months are with You,’ You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.” (Job 14:5) He also knew that all his suffering was just a trial of. faith so that fie might prove to the human and the holy beings that he trusted and loved His God no matter what: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself; and my eyes shall behold, and no another.” Job. 18:25-27. ,And that through this trial his character might be fit for eternity, since only by genuine faith can we obtain salvation. Job, well aware of this fact, declares; “When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)
Death is not a threat to him who lives by faith. On the contrary, it is a blessing and very much wished by those who serve the Lord faithfully, as Job did. He pleads with the Lord; “Oh, that you would hide me in the grace, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!” Job 14:13. He knew that the end of the world would come and the wrath of God will be poured without compassion. upon. the wicked. Although the children of God would be protected by their almighty and loving Father, they would still “have to go through a time of great affliction. He pleads that he may be hidden in the grace until everything is over to resurrect later to eternal life because: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord… that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Rev. 14:13
The Lord in His great mercy did not grant Job his petition at the time he asked for it, but healed him from his sickness and rewarded his patience giving him double of the animals he had lost. “Fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen and one thousand female donkeys” and the same number of children as the evil one had deprived him of: “Seven sons and three daughters”. (Job 42: 12-13)
The apostle Paul had the same conviction as Job regarding death and he declares: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.” (Philippians 1 :22-24) He knew that death is just a sleep, that “the dead know nothing.” (Eccl. 9:5) He could rest in the grace until the Lord would come in the magnificent way in which He describes it to encourage the Thessalonians to continue living by faith. But the debt he feels toward the Lord for the hope of salvation and to his fellowmen, both Jews and Gentiles, is so big that the power of the Spirit gives him the certainty that he will continue living in the flesh, but walking in the Spirit, to bring fruit for the heavenly kingdom, to be a blessing to others, to edify the churches and carry the good news “to all nations, tribes and languages.”
The same Spirit who led him to declare: “Woe is me if [do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16), decided for him: “[ shall remain and continue with you all for your’ progress and joy of faith. ” (Phil. 1: 25) “If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.”
Our Creator has the last word about our final destiny, the One who, “Blew into his nostrils the breath of life,. and man became a living being.” (Gen. 2:7) He is the One who can withdraw his breath and make that dynamic ensemble of bones, muscles and nerves turn into a heap of dust. As David declares: “You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” (Ps. 104:29) and his son Solomon corroborates: “All are from dust, and all return to dust. ” (Eccl 3 :20)
May the Lord give us the awareness that life is a precious gift that is in His power to deprive us of any moment and may He give us the wisdom to live it according to His will for our own benefit and His glory. AMEN