Answers

By   •   July 27, 2005   •   Topics:

Q:

Does God know when every person is going to die, or is it all left up to chance? If He does know, does that mean it can't be changed, even with the best medical help? I've always been curious about this.


A:

When we will die is not a matter of accident or chance; the Bible makes it clear that our lives are in God’s hands. He knows the time of our death, and He has even appointed it. The Bible says, “Man’s days are determined; you (God) have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed” (Job 14:5).

Does this mean we shouldn’t seek medical care when we are sick, or that it doesn’t matter if we do dangerous things because God will deliver us anyway? No, not at all; not one verse of Scripture would support such a view. Satan urged Jesus to cast Himself down from the top of the Temple and trust God to deliver Him—but Jesus refused to do such a foolhardy thing. He told Satan, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:7).

Your question is actually a complex one; there is much about death we do not know, for God hasn’t chosen to answer all our questions about it. But we do know this: Someday we will all die—and the real question is, are we prepared for that day? We can be, by giving our lives to Christ and trusting Him to forgive and save us. Have you made your personal commitment to Him?

When we know Christ, then we can say with the psalmist, “My times are in your hands” (Psalm 31:15). Jesus came to give us life—life right now, and life in the world to come. Make sure of your commitment to Christ today.