May 2

Morning

I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. — John 17:15 BSB

What a sweet and blessed event it will be when all believers, in God’s own time, go home to be with Jesus. In a few short years, the Lord’s soldiers who are now fighting “the good fight of faith” will be done with the battle and will enter into the joy of their Lord. But although Christ prays that His people will eventually be with Him where He is, He does not ask that they be taken away from this world to heaven right away. He wants them to remain here for a time.

How often do weary pilgrims pray, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest!” But Christ does not pray this for us. He leaves us in His Father’s care until we are fully ripened, like shocks of corn ready for harvest, and then we will each be gathered into our Master’s storehouse. Jesus does not plead for our immediate departure through death, because remaining in this world is necessary for the good of others, even if it seems less beneficial for ourselves. He prays that we be kept from evil, but He does not ask for our entry into glory until we are fully prepared for it.

Christians often wish to die when they face trouble. Ask them why, and they will say, “Because I want to be with the Lord.” But we fear that it’s not always a desire for the Lord’s company that drives this wish, but rather a desire to escape from their troubles. Otherwise, they would have the same desire to die during times of peace. They want to go home, not so much to be with the Savior but to find rest. It’s fine to desire to depart if we can say with Paul, “to be with Christ is far better,” but the wish to avoid suffering is a selfish one. Let your desire be to glorify God by your life, as long as He wills it, even if that means enduring toil, conflict, and suffering. Leave it to Him to decide when “it is enough.”

Evening

All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. — Heb 11:13 BSB

Here lies the epitaph of all the blessed saints who fell asleep before the coming of our Lord. It doesn’t matter how they died, whether of old age or by violent means. What matters most, and what is most worthy of being recorded, is that “they all died in faith.” In faith, they lived—it was their comfort, their guide, their motivation, and their support. And in the same grace, they died, ending their earthly journey in the same sweet song they had sung all along. They didn’t rely on the flesh or their own achievements at the end; they didn’t move away from the way of faith but held firmly to it until the end. Faith is just as precious in death as it is in life.

Dying in faith reflects their trust in the past. They believed the promises of God, knowing that their sins were blotted out by His mercy.

Dying in faith speaks to their confidence in the present. These saints knew they were accepted by God, resting in His love and faithfulness even as they passed from this life.

Dying in faith also looks to the future. They fell asleep with the assurance that the Messiah would come and that, when He appeared on the last day, they would rise from their graves to see Him.

For these saints, the pains of death were merely the birth pangs of a better life. Take courage, my soul, as you read this epitaph. Your journey, by God’s grace, is one of faith, and like these saints, you rarely see the full picture. But this has been the path of the brightest and best. Faith was the course that guided these shining stars throughout their lives, and blessed are you that it is also yours. Look again tonight to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, and thank Him for giving you the same precious faith as those now rejoicing in glory.