LIFE? or Death?

LIFE?
or
Death?

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To God be all the glory.

When faced with those options,
our true preference is revealed
by our daily decisions –
good choices promoting health
(and likely prolonging LIFE ),
poor habits proving harmful
(and often leading to death ).

Knowing that LIFE is a gift from
our Creator, who designed us
to live forever, what (or who)
would make any of God's
children prefer death?

We're saddened by anyone's decease
(even those who rebelliously rejected LIFE).
But we're also maddened when death
takes those who joyfully embraced LIFE.

The Grim Reaper seeks “vindication”
by shifting blame to the innocent.
A myriad of methods (from instant
to lengthy) are employed to insinuate
that each person's untimely demise
was either God's fault or self inflicted.

The latter methods of lengthy and self
have been the devil's preferred
strategies in my LIFE.

When he and his evil angels couldn't
destroy me instantly by a few external
events during childhood, an eating
disorder sought to implicate me in
my own murder – by slow suicide.
Willingly succumbing to anorexia nervosa
for years (from a worldly teenage ballerina
wanna-be to a 40-something missionary)
made me the “prime suspect” in the crime.

When starvation didn't succeed, another
“self-attack” ensued – an autoimmune
disorder. Diagnosed, I begrudgingly
took the necessary measures to
halt its insidious progression.
The slow, inner destruction, while still
recovering from years of malnutrition,
left me further weakened. Satan was
not satisfied that my service to God had

already been impaired by fragile health
due to anorexia, but he also enjoyed
making mockery of vegetarianism by
falsely implying, through my frailty, that
healthful living is somehow lacking.
Those victories kept him attacking.
Later, another external event – a car-flip
accident – further injured me physically.
But, by God's grace, it didn't kill me
or destroy me spiritually.

However, what the enemy
devised next nearly did both.

Livid that I was still living (and not
“merely living” but widely sharing
the light of Christ), demons were
strategically dispatched to lure
me back into darkness.
(I'll refrain from details.)
But basically, being weakened
physically, I had drifted into apathy.

Wandering (alone) till I found myself on
Satan's playground, I didn't have the
strength (within myself) to continue
the proverbial “upstream swim.”
I was thus a much-too-easy “prey”
and was tormented by evil spirits.
I began to “pray” to die.

I prefer avoiding words like
“hellish possession” for it frightens
many people (including me); but I'm
certain I was under “heavy oppression”
during which I begged the Lord
(more than a few times)
to let me die … soon.

Thankfully, God doesn't answer every
prayer with Yes (even prayers that include
the word “please”), for He knows such
tearful implorings are often not from
the heart of His children, but rather
from the enemy of His children.

Now, years later, still battle-worn from
tug-of-war struggles for my soul, I recently
noticed symptoms of another physical
malady – this time “copper toxicity”
due to over-consuming of many
copper-rich proteins.

Knowing that God designed foods
perfectly, one realizes that the devil
uses modern manipulations along with
intemperance to cause imbalance so
that the original diet of man, lovingly
provided by our Creator, would seem
imperfect, and even harmful.

Satan thus hopes that those currently
contemplating the pure Garden of Eden
diet (as well as those already
adhering to it) might reject it.

My obvious symptoms of copper toxicity
(including copper-colored fingernail stripes)
caused me to further investigate.

Some websites reassure readers
that nothing is wrong; some scare us
into thinking we're almost dead.
For some reason, I felt better
perusing the latter kind.
But from where (or whom) does
this preference for death come?

The thought of having a deadly disease
didn't seem to faze me. Words like
“potentially fatal” would catch my eye;
and this puzzled me, for I thought I was
years ago done with desiring death,
especially being a born-again
Christian who loves LIFE!
At least I thought I did! So who was
planting “death wishes” in my head?

I think I already knew. But I preferred
interpreting the pervading “serenity” as
a gift from Divinity – the “peace of God,
which passeth all understanding”
{Philippians 4:7} combined with His
strength to fearlessly face the future.
For we're encouraged:
“... as thy days, so shall thy strength be”
{Deuteronomy 33:25}.

But I couldn't help wonder,
'Was I being tranquil or tranquilized?'
'Had I been hypnotized?'
'Was I numbed by a false sense
of peace – from someone
besides the Prince of Peace?'

Thankfully, God knew that a program
online contained concise answers
to those silent questions.
So He impressed me to search the
BetterLifeTV.tv archives where He led me
to a 2006 Time Out program – an interview
with cancer-survivor-friend Carolyn Sutton.

Though I listened intently,
happy for her recovery,
I couldn't silence the
awkward wish that
cancer would
strike me too,
and more
successfully.

Two statements made during Carolyn's
candid testimony jolted me out of deadly
apathy and confirmed that seeking an
early grave was not prompted by the
heavenly Father – The Giver of LIFE –
but likely were wicked whispers from
“the father of lies” who wants me
(and all of God's children)
to die … soon.
And forever.

Carolyn had transparently confessed
on the program that, in moments of
cancer anguish, she too had prayed
to be quickly laid to rest.

She then shared God's precious reply:
Carolyn, aren't you interested in
knowing what I want for your future?
A death wish usually doesn't come from
My throne. Do you want to play so easily
into the enemy's hands? Remember,
I am the One Who has promised to
be with you and never leave you.”

God spoke volumes to her with
those heart-searching words;
they spoke to my heart too.
I am thankful to the Lord, all of Heaven,
Carolyn, and Better Life Television for
inspiring, producing, airing, archiving,
and leading viewers (including me)
to the powerful program.

Determined to never again
“play so easily into the enemy's hands,”
I encourage all to honor our Creator
by not giving up on living but
by giving up on dying … soon.

For heavenly inspiration
and health information
(and more thoughts to ponder),
visit: HeavenAndHealth.info

Choose LIFE.