It Is Fixed

 

No prayer of mine got me in the here and now

No beseeching, no promise, no pleading, no vow

I had no control over my arrival on this earth

And no determination of mine decided my birth

 

I didn’t pray concerning the time of my sojourn

That was ordered long before I was even born

My days were numbered and in fact they still are

And like me is everyone whether he is near or far

 

A thousand years are but a day in Thy sight, O Lord

So stated the psalmist in Psalm 90 verse 4

It was noted again in second Peter 3 verse 8

So whenever we go it is neither too early nor too late

 

History is already written in the annals of heaven

Concerning all who will be pardoned and forgiven

That fact is also true concerning all that will be lost

Even though they had a choice: their way or the cross

 

The Lamb’s Book of Life has already been decided

The Triune God knows those who will have abided

The past, present and future are all the same to Him

For God declares the end from the beginning

 

There are those who often question God’s infallibility

Pretending to be gods they display their own stupidity

For sooner or later they confront their own mortality

Which confirms to all that they are not God Almighty

 

 

The Bible too is viewed with mounting suspicion

By critics and pundits and even some within Christendom

Pulled down by atheists and promoters of evolution

Denouncing as a myth the Genesis account of creation

 

The world mocks and scorns those who follow Christ

Declaring the same to be their cop-out mechanism device

Afraid to face up to the uncertain reality of the future

They create for themselves a godlike benevolent creature

 

The truth be told this applies to them outside of Christ

To them with their pantheon of gods which never suffice

Worshipping the gods that they themselves have formed

Their creation they worship could never be the norm

 

Yet they regard true Christians as lacking in scholarship

Purporting them to be far behind and continuing to slip

Choosing rather to believe in fancies and fiction and lies

Hoping one day to see this God who will appear in the skies

 

 

But consider that none of us has control over the future

The past is just that and in a our minds a receding picture

In the present we live and that quickly becomes the past

And we must adjust since the present passes so fast

 

Clearly we are not in control as we often pretend to be

We are not on top of everything and that is plain to see

Not in control of our days, our weeks, our months or years

And our plans are flawed when the future appears

 

This perception of control is a perception; that’s all it is

For each day brings a new set of questions: a different quiz

And often while grappling with the queries of one day

The next day arrives with its challenges to our dismay

 

And how do we respond to the constant challenging days

Well from my obscured vantage we do so in varied ways

Some throw their hands up in stark displays of disgust

Some hands fall by the side; too tired even to fuss

 

Some will show a determined face though inwardly weak

Quite a few will not even bother to hide their fearful streak

Still some will struggle on though faced by imminent defeat

While others will try to find solace in some form of retreat

 

So which one of us is in control please raise your hand

Which one of us gets what he wants simply by a demand

Which one of us is unaffected despite what another does

Just as I thought, not a hand raised; only a growing buzz

 

 

We can’t add another heartbeat to the length of our days

Even when the best medical mind tries a myriad ways

It’s really a fallacy when we speak of prolonging one’s life

For all our days are numbered come peace or come strife

 

Not one has ever lived to reach his one-thousandth year

Only a few in very ancient times have even come near

969 is the maximum the Scriptures recall

With a few more 900's before they too were stalled

 

Life and death, origins and destinies are in God's hand

They were all instituted at His creative command

He simply spoke the word and it all came to pass

What we are now experiencing is already scripted and cast

 

God is the one in control whatever the perceived reality

Faith not sight is what He demands from all of humanity

The one who will come to Him must believe that He exists

Having not seen yet believed are the ones He enlists

 

Stewart Russell© 2016