Time’s Ticking: Hezekiah’s Lesson and the Quest for Meaningful Living

No one wants to think about the end of their life.

But life is so important, you must.

In Isaiah 38, a prophet pays a visit to a king—

a sick king named Hezekiah.

His illness didn’t just come out of nowhere.

It followed a moment of pride—

when he paraded his wealth before foreign kings.

He elevated self over God.

And now, the prophet brings a hard word.

“Set your house in order, for you shall die.”

No one wants to hear that.

Not from a doctor.

Not from a preacher.

Not from a prophet.

Hezekiah drops to his knees—pleading with God.

God listens.

And responds.

The shadow cast across the staircase turns backward ten steps.

A sign.

Hezekiah is given more years.

But he knows…

The sand in the hourglass keeps falling—faster than before.

What do you do when time is short?

We don’t like thinking about that.

Most of us live our days without counting them.

But they’re slipping by.

Dr. Atul Gawande faced that same question from the other side.

Trained to prolong life at all costs, he knew how to keep a heart beating

with tubes, monitors, and oxygen hoses—bodies tethered to machines.

Technically alive.

Spiritually empty.

He decided to ask a different question:

When death is near…

What do you want your last days to look like?

A palliative care nurse coached him.

She told him to stop using ten-syllable drug names

and start asking one clear question:

“If your time is short, what is most important to you?”

And then it got personal.

His own father—a doctor himself—

was diagnosed with spinal cancer.

The treatments made it worse.

So Atul asked him:

“What is important as you come to the end of your life?”

His father didn’t want to die to the rhythm of beeps and buzzes.

He didn’t want to be surrounded by white coats and wires.

He wanted to see his grandkids.

To laugh with his friends.

To eat at the table with those he loved.

To live each day—fully.

And that question isn’t just for the sick.

Even those of us who feel strong and healthy

should pause and hear the wisdom of Moses:

“Our days are soon gone… and we fly away.”

So if your time is short…

What is most important to you?

Is it to know Christ more deeply?

To love your family more fully?

To let go of what doesn’t matter—and hold tight to what does?

Our time is short.

So again I ask…

What is most important to you?