God's Cure: Devotions From Time of GraceSample

Why doesn’t God just take me?

Have you ever heard a senior citizen, frail and full of years, bedridden and often in pain, groan, “Why doesn’t God just take me? I hurt all the time; I’m no good to anyone. I’ve been ready to go for a long time. Why am I still here?” What can you say to someone you love whose life is full of sighs like this: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy” (Psalm 130:1,2).

Some countries have passed euthanasia laws that essentially allow people to commit legal suicide, assisted by a physician. Any biblical Christian would recoil in horror from that kind of “mercy killing,” no matter how good a case could be made for ending a life of pain. But back to the main question: why doesn’t God just take them?

Why indeed? The Almighty may have many reasons for allowing a sufferer to linger longer. Their words of hope, their courage and stamina, their patience in bearing their burden, and their serene confidence in eternal life through Christ may change the hearts of younger and healthier people around them. They may have a greater impact on others more in their illness than in wellness. St. Paul said, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

He will take us home when our mission is completed.