Through the years a number of people has expressed their desire
to die to me. In some instances, it was elderly folk who have been suffering
with body aliments; in some cases is was after the death of a loved one,
especially a spouse. Even young people have expressed this and, in some cases, even
children, especially when they are going through a particularly tough experience. In all of these cases, whether illness, sadness
or emotional pain they desired to die rather than face the difficulties they
were faced with.
I want to start by saying that it is a very human response
in such circumstances. In Matthew 26:39 Jesus
prayed “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” This was in the garden of Gethsemane, moments
before He would experience the most painful thing imaginable: being crucified!
Of cause, we know that this cup did not pass from our Lord, He
died on that cross. But this brings up the question: is it acceptable for us to
wish to die? Or, is it wrong to pray to the
Lord take your life, because you cannot
stand the present experience you are facing? This is our question for today:
Is it wrong to wish for your death?
In this study we will consider five Biblical examples where
people prayed for, wished for or expressed the desire to die. We will also look at how the Lord responded
to their requests:
1. Job
Job 1:8 tells us that Job was a
righteous man. We know that he
experienced great tribulations and suffering. Sitting in dust and ashes, with
boils all over his skin and friends who accused him, his burden was to heavy
for him to bare. So in Job 6:8-9 he
prayed “Oh that I might have my request, and that God would fulfill my hope,
that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut
me off!”
What was there left to live for?
Job could have asked: His wealth was taken from him, His servants where slain, His
children all died. He was a man that understood grief in ways none of us will
ever experience it. In Job 3:3 we are
told that he even cursed they day that he was born.
Perhaps this is you! You have lost
all hope: Missing loved ones; a failing body; a life full of misery and trouble. But God did not give Job the death he
requested. James 5:11 reminds us “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained
steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose
of the Lord, how the Lord is
compassionate and merciful.”
For Job there was still more to
do: more compassion to give; more mercy to receive; more communion with the
Lord; more repentance to do; and even more children to bare. God’s time for Job
was not yet finished! God still had more for him to do and to receive.
I do not know what God has in mind
for you for the future. but God clearly still have something in mind for you and
until that day, God will not grant you your wish to die.
Let Paul’s encourage you with 2
Corinthians 4:16-17 “Do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting
away…this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of
glory beyond all comparison”
2. Moses
Moses, the servant of the Lord
also prayed that the Lord should take his life.
He prayed this, not once, but twice!
The first was when the people of Israel sinned grievously against the
Lord by erecting a golden calf. Moses is
overburdened and frankly, fed up with leading this rebellious people. So in Exodus 32:32 he prayed: “please blot
me out of your book that you have written.”
The second time he prayed for his
death is found in Numbers 11:15. “If you will treat me like this, kill me at
once”. He prayed this because this
time these rebellious people of God was complaining against Moses. In the
previous verse he explains his frustration (Numbers 11:14): “I am not able
to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me.”
But did the Lord kill Moses? No,
instead we are told that the Lord provided seventy elders to help him to care and
manage the people of Israel.
When life has become to much or if
the troubles are overwhelming you, look to the Lord. Pray to the compassionate
Father who will provide for you so that you will be able to carry the load of
life’s difficulties.
3. Jonah
Jonah wished for the destruction
of Nineveh. This was because it was the capital city of Assyria the great enemy
of God’s people. Jonah refused to be an instrument of God for their salvation. He
hated these Assyrians and sat there waiting for God to destroy them. But God did not destroy Nineveh, and this
made Jonah angry. We read in Jonah 4:1-3 “But it displeased Jonah
exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O LORD, is
not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to
flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore
now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than
to live.’”
I don’t think many of us would wish
for the destruction of a nation or even a city but let us not forget that the
Assyrians were a very brutal people. We might not wish the death of a nation or
a city, but perhaps we’ve murdered people in your heart because they have
wronged you or hurt you in some way. Then
the Lord may ask you the same question He asked Jonah in Jonah 4:4 “Do you
do well to be angry?”
Jonah wanted the death of
Nineveh’s people, but God wanted him to share the good news of salvation with
them. But when Jonah could not get what he wanted, he prayed that the Lord
should take his life. He wanted them
dead, and if he could not have that, he wanted to die himself. He refused to forgive those who have sinned
against him and his people and wished rather to die that be influential in them
finding forgiveness with the Lord.
Matthew 6:12 reminds us “forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
4. Elijah
Shortly after Elijah’s finest hour,
where he prayed down the Lord’s fire on the four hundred and fifty prophets of
Baal, Elijah feared for his life and wished to die. Why? Because
the wicked queen Jezebel heard of the death of her prophets, and now sought to
kill Elijah because of it. We read in 1
Kings 19:3-4 “Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came
to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah and left his servant there. But he himself
went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom
tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take
away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’”
Perhaps this is you! You wish to
die because you fear those who are living.
Perhaps those who are alive are causing you great trouble. They might be seeking to persecute you; they
might be trying to caused you harm; they might be pursuing you; they might be
seeking to destroy you or your good name.
Jesus reminds us in Luke 12:4 “I
tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have
nothing more that they can do.” We are called to entrust our lives to the faithful
Creator and to continue to do what is good for as long as He grants us life. Do not fear those who seek to destroy you, but
fear Him who can cast your soul into hell.
May the Lord help us so that we will find rest in His sovereign dealings
with us in life. Let us pray rather that
He will grant us the grace we need to endure until His appointed day of our
death.
Again we see that the Lord dealt
kindly with Elijah. In 1 Kings 19:5-8 we see the Lord finds him sitting under a
tree moping, sad and wishing to die. Then
the angel of the Lord woke him up and says “Arise and eat”. In other words ‘Get over this depression and
get busy with the Lord’s work’ “for the journey is too great for you”. But after eating and drinking what the Lord provided
he found the strength to walk forty days & and forty nights, all the way to
Horeb, the mountain of God.
Elijah was threatened with death
by Jezebel and prayed that for his own death, but Elijah as we know from 2
Kings 2:11-12 was taken up into heaven alive in a whirlwind and was never seen
again.
5. Paul
Strictly speaking Paul did not pray
for his death, but he certainly had some desire for the redeeming benefits for
death. I think it’s important for us to
consider what Paul longed for but also to consider his contentment in whatever
the Lord chooses for him. In Philippians 1:21-23 Paul says the following: “For
to me to live is Christ, & to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh,
that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am
hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for
that is far better.”
The reason why Paul desired his
death, was because he desired Christ Himself. It was not that he desired to be
released from the troubles of life; he wanted to be where Christ is.
This should be the desire of every
Christian! Of cause we look forward to a day when the brokenness, sadness &
trouble of this world will be over and we’ll see our Lord face to face, and
dwell in his presence for eternity. But
then it is not so much a desire to be rid of the troubles of this life as it is
a deep desire for the glorious pleasure of being in our Saviours presence. It’s a longing to be with Him and not a
longing to be away from trouble. Again the Lord did not grant Paul his desire at
that moment and Paul was content to continue in life despite all the troubles
he faced. We are well versed in Paul’s
troubles, but Paul continues in Philippians 1:24-26 “But to remain in the
flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will
remain & continue with you all, for your progress & joy in the faith,
so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my
coming to you again.”
As we come to a conclusion let us return to the Lord’s
prayer in Matthew 26:39. He prayed “let this cup pass from Me”, but then
continued “…nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” In John 5:30 Jesus reminds us “I seek not
My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” What Jesus teaches we must
learn: To submit completely to the Father’s will for us in all things: If it is
His will for us to suffer, we must willing suffer; If it is His will for us to
live for many years after the loss of a loved one, then we must willingly do
that; If it is His will for us to face adversity, ridicule and even
persecution, let us willingly take that
as well.
…For Job, the cup did not passed from him;
for Moses, the cup did not passed from him;
for Jonah, the cup did not passed from him;
for Elijah the cup did not passed from him;
for Paul the cup did not passed from him;
…neither did it pass from our Lord. He had to drink that
great and terrifying cup of the cross, He died to do the will of our Father.
But while none of these were granted the release by death
they requested, our loving Father responded to each of them with compassion and
help: He strengthened them; He encouraged them; He blessed them, so that they
could continue and live to do His will.
We are not called to wish or to pray for death! We are
called to willingly submit to the Father’s will: “Let your will be done”.
He will give us what we need to continue until His appointed time for us to
leave this earth. If only we will submit to Him; If only we will pray to Him; If
only we will study His Word; If only will worship Him in the church; If only we
will to seek to honour Him, and do it with every breath until, by His grace, He
gives us our final breath at His appointed time.
The fact is, none of us will die before the time God has
appointed for us to die. All our days
are ordained by God even before we are born. The day of our birth and the day
of our death is perfectly determined by God and we need to find rest in Him.
Psalm 18:30 “This God - His way is perfect”.
Amen
