In part one of this article, we did see that death
is the inevitable destination of our journey in life. It is a passage from one
realm of living to another. Everyone has been allotted a time to live (Eccl.
3:3) called a life span. You can live in such a way as to have your days
consumed, cut off or prolonged and multiplied. The Bible questions, “Why should
you die before your time?” (Eccl. 7:17)
In this second part, we’ll examine reasons why
people die before their time.
The
Word of God gives us pointers to factors that pose themselves as major
hindrances to people living out their full lives. Let’s take a look at some of
them.
1.
Sinful Living
“But
You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and
deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in You.” (PSA. 55:23)
“Though a
sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know
that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.
But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he
prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.” (ECCLE.
8:12-13)
This person had his allotted
span of life, but because of his wickedness, did not even finish half of his days.
Again, the
Bible shows that fact that a man’s years can be reduced or shortened.
“The fear of
the LORD prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.” (PROV. 10:27)
Whenever your
heart condemns you over some sin you have committed, don’t justify yourself or
explain it away. Confess it to God, and let the Blood of Jesus cleanse you from
all unrighteousness. (1Jn. 1:9)
So David said to
Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
And Nathan said to David, “The Lord
also has put away your sin; you shall not die. (2 SAM. 12:13)
The wages of sin is always death (Rom. 6:23).
Deliver yourself today from the stranglehold of a sinful lifestyle.
But
the godless and profane in heart heap up anger [at the divine discipline]; they
do not cry to Him when He binds them [with cords of affliction].
They die in youth, and their life perishes among the
unclean (those who are sodomites). (JOB 36:13-14, AMP)
2. Wickedness
[Although
all have sinned] be not wicked overmuch or willfully, neither be foolish — why
should you die before your time? (ECCLE. 7:17, AMP)
Wickedness means
being spiteful; or intended to injure; a desire to cause pain or damage.
Living
life this way will cut short one’s days. For this very reason, Judah’s sons
were slain. It was said of Er, “He was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the
Lord killed him.” (Gen. 38:7).
But You, O
God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of destruction; men of blood and
treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in, lean on, and
confidently rely on You. (PSALMS 55:23, AMP)
When a person
gives his heart over to wickedness and doing wicked acts, it is God Himself
that will bring such a person down. Of course, your wickedness does not affect
God at all, but it affects His creation – men and women created in His image.
Your
wickedness touches and affects a man such as you are, and your righteousness is
for yourself, one of the human race [but it cannot touch God, Who is above such
influence]. (JOB 35:8, AMP)
Once a man sets
his heart to wickedness, his defence is departed from him; God will not
preserve such a person. There is no hiding place for the wicked (Job 34:22;
36:6). There is no peace to the wicked (Isa. 48:22; 57:21). It may look like
the wicked is having his way, but he will soon be cut off.
The fear of
the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. (PROV.
10:27)
3. Foolishness
Do
not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? (ECCLE.
7:17)
A man can cut
short his own life out of his own foolishness, carelessness or thoughtlessness.
You cannot blame the Lord for anything and everything that happens on the
grounds that if the Lord did not permit it, it wouldn’t have happened.
People ruin
their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD. (PROV.
19:3, NLT)
Some of the
misfortunes we’ve been through have actually been our own handiwork.
Don't you
see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots? Carelessness kills; complacency
is murder. (PROV. 1:32, MSG)
Is it not
foolhardy for one to drive a car in the night with no headlamps and no brakes,
yet speeding recklessly, believing that “God is in control?”
I also consider
this the peak of foolishness for someone to be promiscuous and be ‘sleeping
around’ like a dog, believing that condoms can protect you from AIDS. Condoms
can tear. I personally know of at least four couples who had condoms on and yet
the wife got pregnant. One gave birth to a set of twins – with condoms in
place. Be warned!
The lips of
the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom. (PROV. 10:21)
Don’t be a fool.
Receive wisdom from God’s Word that your days may be multiplied. Remember,
length of days in is wisdom’s right hand (Prov. 3:16).
4. Unfruitfulness
JOHN 15:2
"Every branch in Me that
does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes,
that it may bear more fruit.
A parable was told of a
gardener who had a Vine tree that would not produce year after year. When the
Master got tired of the plant just covering the ground and occupying precious
space, he commanded that it be cut down.
LUKE 13:6-9
6
He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his
vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
7
"Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have
come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use
up the ground?'
8
"But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until
I dig around it and fertilize it.
9
'And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'
"
5. Stress
and Fatigue
I need to add this as a cause of death. This is a
silent killer because its effect is not readily seen until afterwards when it
takes its toll on the victim. When a person has worked for a very long time
without sufficient rest, the resultant effect is fatigue – exhaustion from
overwork. The cumulative effect of overwork and lack of rest sometimes only
shows up in your latter years.
According
to John Maxwell, a hundred years ago, most causes of illness were related to
infectious disease. Today, they are related to stress.
Paul said
Epaphroditus had been sick and almost died from overwork. He almost worked
himself to death, and come to think of it, it was the work of God (Phil.
2:25-30).
Don’t
kill yourself because of God’s work. They’ll carry on without you. The same
work you felt could not be done without you – they’ll easily find a replacement
for you. Be wise. Martin Luther said, “I’d rather get four people to work than
do the work of four people.”
Why do
you think God rested on the seventh day? Was He tired? No. He was setting up a
principle of creation – the principle of rest! The Bible said rest is good
(Gen. 49:15). Rest allows the body to renew, reinvigorate and reinvent itself.
I know there is a lot of pressure on you. So many things are calling for your
attention, but you’ve got to learn to strike a balance.
According
to T. D. Jakes, “Stress is a killer, leading us to eating disorders, soaring
depression rates, unstable relationships, and extramarital affairs.” (Reposition Yourself, p206).
Jesus knew the value of rest when He summoned His
disciples to "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a
while." (Mk. 6:31).
Someone
gave a timely advice by saying that if you don’t know how to rest, you’ll be
laid to rest.
6. Disobedience
and Rebellion
Living in disobedience to God and His Word is living
dangerously. By so doing, you place yourself outside God’s protective arena as
you are simply living outside the will of God for your life.
Disobedience to God’s instruction cost Moses his life
(Num. 20:12; 27:14).
JOB 36:11-12
11 If they obey and
serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in
pleasures.
12 But if they do not
obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.
7. Ignorance
Jesus said that the devil is a
murderer (Jn.8:44). He comes to steal, kill and destroy (Jn.10:10). Yet, the
only thing that empowers Satan to work against you is your ignorance. If a
child of God were ever destroyed, it would not be on the strength or power of
the enemy, but on the basis of ignorance. Ignorance then, is the strength of
the oppressor.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.. (HOS.
4:6).
This truth you are
receiving right now is empowering you against the enemy. When you come to know
the truth, you become absolutely free (Jn.8:32).
But if they obey not,
they shall perish by the sword [of God's destructive judgments], and they shall
die in ignorance of true knowledge. (JOB 36:12, AMP)
God has fashioned out days for you
to live. You shall not go before your time in the name of Jesus.
“You shall come to the grave at a full age, as
a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.” (JOB 5:26)
7. Witchcraft
In
Africa, this kind is often called ‘remote control killing.’ The forces of
witchcraft and satanic powers attacking a man can result in death. But then as
with a remote control, a gadget can only respond because they have
corresponding elements. That’s why Jesus could boldly say, “…the prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” (Jn. 14:30)
As
a child of God, no one can cast a spell on you. No incantation against you can
work. No witch can kill you.
“No magic charms
can work against them…” (Num. 23:23,
CEV)
No
curse can touch Jacob; no sorcery has any power against Israel... (Num. 23:23,
NLT)
8. “Death in the pot”
There
was once a gathering of prophets. These young prophets went in search of food.
As they gathered the ingredients to prepare the meal, they unknowingly gathered
in some poisonous substances. When they tasted the cooked meal, they raised an
alarm.
2 KINGS 4:40
So they poured
out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the
pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in
the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
Even
though they had tasted of the meal, none of them died.
If this could happen under the Old Covenant, how much more should we
expect such deliverances in our days! After all, we have a better covenant that
is established upon better promises (Heb.8:6).
MARK 16:17-18
16 And these
signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues;
17 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they
shall recover.
Understand that living by faith is no substitute for healthy eating.
Poor feeding is one reason why people are sick, weak, or even die. Sometimes
it’s what you’re eating that’s actually eating you up. That’s why you will find
cancer or diabetic patients being told not to eat certain foods, because they
ought to stop further deterioration of their body condition.
If
you look at the Old Testament, you will discover that some of the laws of Moses
were actually dietary as well as sanitary laws to enhance the well being of
God’s people.
9. Spiritual insensitivity
The Bible tells us that one of the things the Holy Spirit would do in
the lives of believers is to show them things to come (John 16;13)
Before
disaster strikes, God will be faithful enough to give you a warning signal. The
problem we have is that we have not developed an ear for the Spirit. We are so
preoccupied with natural things, that even when God is trying to catch our
attention, He would have a difficult time doing that.
PSALMS 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is
fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore.
He will show us the path of life so we can escape the
paths of death.
PSALMS 68:20
Our God is the God of salvation; And to God the Lord
belong escapes from death.
There may be times you want to embark on a trip, but then you begin to
‘feel’ a reluctance, an uneasiness, an unwillingness to move. At such times you
need to check again, it may the Lord giving you a signal not to go. There may
be no accident involved if you went, but you might travel in vain or miss out
on an opportunity. This ‘feeling’ is not as a result of laziness, but somehow
there is no peace in your heart. Please don’t move. Everything may look okay, but
don’t follow outward signs.
When
Paul was traveling by ship as a prisoner along with some other people, he
warned them of an impending danger, should they embark on the trip. Everything
around seemed okay, so they ignored his warning, and as a result they ran into
danger. If not for Paul who was on board that ship, they would have all lost
their lives (See Acts 27:10-13)
Paul said, “I perceive that this trip will be dangerous.” He didn’t see
a vision. He wasn’t even warned in a dream. It was a spiritual perception, an
inner knowing. You just know that you know. You may not be able to explain it.
It’s a premonition. An intuition. A hunch. It’s a kind of a ‘funny feeling of
an impending danger.’ This is one of the primary ways God leads His children. (Rom.8:14,16).
Truly, unto God the Lord belongs escapes from death. I have experienced
such escapes over and over again.
To be continued.
You can follow me on Twitter
(@DanielYohanna).
