Bible Text: Psalm 116:15 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15
With cancer consuming his lungs and his bones, David Prueitt, then 42 years of age, lost hope that life would ever be worth living. On a day which changed the course of his life, he swallowed a cupful of applesauce mixed with the bitter power of 100 barbiturate pills. He had decided to take his life.
Within minutes he fell asleep. His wife Lynda watched the rise and fall of his chest thinking that he would drift into unconsciousness, then cease breathing. But this was not meant to be. For three days he was in a semi-conscious kind of sleep. Then unexpectedly he awakened. “What happened?” he asked Lynda, adding, “Why am I not dead?”
David, a former logger, was too strong for the barbiturates to kill. He told his wife that while he was unconscious he had been in the presence of God and God told him, “This is not the way to get into heaven.” How do you discount the testimony of someone who says, “This is what God told me!”?
Was God saying, “Taking matters of life and death into your hands isn’t the way to get to heaven because I have a will regarding the time and the manner in which you come home”? It seems that this was the message. Of one thing you can be certain. Death is not a matter of indifference with God. The psalmist wrote, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15).
Suicide is like saying, “God, your grace is not sufficient for me, your strength is not adequate, and your mercy insufficient to take me through the dark hour of the soul awaiting your timing.”
Is God’s grace sufficient only for the good times when you are healthy and there are no grave needs which confront you? Or is He sufficient to walk with you through the dark hours taking you through the valley to the light of His presence?
Suppose you had an appointment with Queen Elizabeth, the monarch who sits on the throne of Great Britain, and you went to London, expectant and excited. Your appointment was at 10 A.M. on Friday, but you just couldn’t wait. So on Tuesday you went to the gates of Buckingham Palace and waved the invitation at the guard, covering the date with your thumb, barged past him and pushed your way into the presence of the Queen. If she should see you at all, do you suppose she would say, “I wasn’t expecting you at all. You aren’t scheduled to meet with me until Friday at 10 A.M.”? Surely that is how it would also be with our Father in heaven.
The book of Hebrews in the New Testament speaks of death as an appointment which we are to keep, something that implies a certain timing which is entirely in His hands.
Taking things into your own hands is always counter to what God wants. It’s like saying, “I’m capable of making decisions on my own regardless of what your will may be.” God is not indifferent to your pain, your loneliness, or your suffering. When Jesus was crucified at the hands of the Roman soldiers, He could well have been tempted to say, “Why should I endure this? I’ve suffered enough” and called for angels to deliver Him. Instead He suffered humiliation and pain choosing to triumph over them so that we might realize He knows and understands when we walk through the same dark valley.
I think David Pruiett got it right: it was not the way to get into heaven. Our times are in His hands, and in His own time He can lift you into the glory of His presence so that we can rejoice without fear or misgivings. His time is always best. Never forget it.
Resource reading: Psalm 116
