Psalm 91:16
With a long life I will satisfy him.
Earlier in this series we saw Exodus 23: 26 which in the NLT reads, “I will give you long, full lives.” That is some pretty simple stuff; good promises from God to you. What’s not to understand? Still, there is a place in these two verses where people get hung up. It’s this question, “What is a long life?” Today’s verse holds the answer. You get to determine what long life means. You can hang out here on earth until you get satisfied.
The best story I have ever heard on this was from Reverend Kenneth Hagin. He said, “If you ever hear I died, you will know I got satisfied.” Well, one morning he was eating some strawberries, I think. He ate the bowl of berries he had been served but then thought he would like a few more. So, he ate a few more, laid his head down on the table and went to heaven. He got satisfied. How cool is that? He punched out when he was good and ready. Not a minute before.
That story, and it’s a true story, creates a comfort within me. We don’t have to get sick and die. Just comfortably satisfied. We have gotten fooled that moving to heaven is a result of sickness. That’s not gospel. That’s a lie. It doesn’t even make sense. It’s like someone had the idea that God invented disease so that he could get people off the earth into heaven. Really? Nuts, right? No, God wants you to translate yourself to His Kingdom in heaven when you are ready. Doesn’t that sound more rational?
Hey, forget this sickness business. Let’s just leave that to the Egyptians. Let’s live in the promise of God, intertwine our lives around Jesus and get full and satisfied. Yeah, I like that!