Psalms 91:16
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation. NKJV
In 1997, summons echoed across the distances, drawing together the scattered children of my grandmother to her humble abode in Mbarara. Despite the different places they lived in the different corners of the country, the call reached each one, including us in Kenya, necessitating my mom making the journey back to the 'village'.
Upon their reunion, my grandmother gathered her beloved into her room, where she embarked upon the task of allocating duties and obligations to the children. My mother, being the eldest, shouldered much of the responsibilities. Though none among them fully discerned the underlying reason for this assignment, it unfolded with an air of inevitability, shrouded in the mystery of her intent.
As the deliberations concluded, my grandmother offered to lead them in a final prayer. When they all said AMEN, they gazed at the bed, stunned, my grandmother had passed on to glory. No groans of pain, no shouts of anguish, she simply let go of the full life she lived here on earth and transitioned to glory.
Deuteronomy 34:5-7
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. NKJV
Numbers 33:38-39
Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor. NKJV
From these verses you get the sense that God had to convince these people to die. They didn’t have to get sick or become weak. Psalms 91 promises us that with long life God will satisfy us. Health and strength are your portion, we do not have to live with or tolerate sickness. Like my grandmother, when its your time, after a long and fruitful life, you will simply transition to glory. It will be a decision you make. So what do we say to these things, what should we do; Honoring our parents is the first way we are guaranteed of living a long and prosperous life. Be a person of the Word, the words of life that God speaks over us through His word infuse the Zoe life into us, bringing prosperity and long life.
Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. NKJV
Live long and prosper