Our Time Limits

September 16, 2019

Our time is limited. You (God) have given us only so many months to live and have set limits we cannot go beyond. Job 14:5 NCV

Is this quote from Job true? Well, yes and no. It’s very important when we read the Bible to know who is speaking and if they are uttering a word FROM God or TO God. Job is a particularly important book to read carefully because large segments of Job are his three friends spouting off their personal wisdom, much of which sounds good, but many of the things they say are quite flawed. Job 14:5 is Job talking, and he is talking in the height of his sorrow when all his children have died, he has lost all his wealth, and he himself is covered with boils. He is talking to God, expressing his pain, frustration, and confusion to a God who, bottom line, he trusts enough to tell Him, “Even if you kill me, I still will serve You.” He’s telling God how it feels to him right now. What he says is mostly true. Whatever God says cannot be overridden. That is true. Does God know how many days we will live? Absolutely. Does He arbitrarily decide that? That’s where it gets sticky. You can’t build a theology for God on a couple of verses like these.

Recently I heard a pastor at a funeral use this verse in Psalm 139:16. (This is David talking to God.): “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” The pastor was telling the congregation that the young man we were remembering who had died of an overdose was helpless to change his destiny. The pastor said, “No one needs to feel any guilt or responsibility because God knew this. He planned this. He planned the day of John’s birth and the day and manner of his death before he was even born.”

Now that statement runs contrary to God’s character and design of creation as shown all the way through Scripture. Does God know our lifespans? Of course. Can we go any further than He says we can go? Absolutely not. But God has no part of the sinful and unwise choices that shorten our lives or the lives of others. He has no part in the ways we waste our one and only lives. God wants us to live wisely and make the best use of all our days. We see that throughout Scripture. Rather than driving recklessly, choosing foolishly, believing we are “invincible until God’s work is done,” He calls us to make the best and wisest use of our time, so that when we leave this life, our example is positive and godly, and we leave no one wondering what God might have done with our lives had we not been so reckless.

We can’t console ourselves when our lack of care, discipline, or responsibility causes something tragic to happen and say, “Well, God did it.” God rarely interferes with our choices, which is why we should learn to number our days and gain a heart of wisdom. The choice of how we live is always ours, and sometimes our choices even affect the length of our lives.

• Pray: O God, thank You for trusting me to make choices. Help me be wise. Amen.