Adding years to your life

One of the things I believed about God was His sovereignty and that a man's purpose in life was to bring Him glory in adversity or when things were going well. I also believed that according to Psalm 139:10, 31:15 and Job 14:15, a man's days were preordained and written in a book. Because of this understanding, I believe that men and women can live lives in the absence of fear and with courage.

But a conversation with my wife, Janice, and daughter, Amy, provided an important piece in my understanding of just how sovereign Our Father is.

They were praying through Psalm 112 which had meant tons to Janice when her father was going to have surgery. He was already in a weakened condition and the doctors didn't know whether his heart could take the surgery. The decision rested with Janice. The Lord directed her to Psalm 112. There, in two places, the Lord seemed to confirm that her dad's heart would remain steadfast. She made the decision to allow them to operate and he came through with flying colors.

Having that as a background, fast forward to knowing how they should pray for me during this season of my life. They were in a quandary since they knew that all I cared about was God receiving maximum glory from me no matter whether I lived or died.

Amy then suggested they read Isaiah 38, the story about King Hezekiah. In it, God tells Isaiah to go tell the king that he is going to die. Hezekiah in turn cries out to God reminding Him of his life and how he had walked before Him in truth with a whole heart. Here is where there was a gap in my understanding. Since God wrote the book regarding how many days a man has to live, in his sovereignty He can either add or subtract from the number. Amazing! He added 15 years, or 5,475 days to Hezekiah's life!

Having a fresh revelation of this aspect of my King has re-energized my prayer life since according to Isaiah 38, the reason that God extended His days was not only for Hezekiah but for His manifest presence to be reelected in the salvation of the city.

God truly is sovereign over men and their affairs, He directs the courses of kings and all of history.

I am a grateful man.

Love,

Tim