Frequently throughout the Bible, God says not to be afraid. Jesus himself said those words. Even so, believers in Christ as Savior can still be afraid. The origin of our fear and the subject of our fear can be varied. Sometimes we incorporate fear as a child. An example of this is when a mother is afraid of lightning and thunder; she influences the child also to be afraid during storms. Then there is the fear of the unknown. We would like to have life laid out before us so there are no surprises, and we have a sense of control. The idea of instability is something that is difficult. In the same train of thought, some people are afraid of change.
One of the greatest fears that people have is the fear of death. We have wrapped so much superstition around it that we have difficulty being spiritually objective. You may be the person who doesn’t want to leave this life because of what you would like to be in your future. Death is connected with that of the spooky. Now let’s think about the Bible and fear, particularly the fear of death.
Death is a term we use to describe when the soul leaves the body. It might be that you fear what happens after your soul leaves the body such as hell. Could it be that you have little or no confidence in Christ to sustain you beyond death?
Jesus said to his followers that he is going to prepare a place for us. Think of this as moving from a rundown dilapidated house to a mansion. I’m certain you would rather live in the mansion than in the house that is falling in on itself. My description of the house is like that of the body because of illness and injury as our house becomes dilapidated. Our dilapidated house/body will not last forever as the years go by. Our processing of information can become slower. Our muscles deteriorate meaning that we cannot lift or carry nearly what we use to. Dwell on the fact that Jesus promised us a new body, a better body, a better place to live in our new body.
Then there is the matter of trust. To offset the fear of death, we must have a deep-seated trust in God. A review of how we do our devotions or pray or read the Bible could give us an increase in trust. Ask yourself if you really trust God so that when you breathe your last breath you will be okay. When Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus, he made an interesting comparison. He said that Lazarus was escorted by angels to the place of Paradise while the unbelieving rich man just died. This certainly behooves us to be sure that our anchor holds tightly in Christ. Cling to him. Lean on him. Trust him.
For the person who does not know Christ as Savior, it will be a frightening experience when death occurs. However, that can be avoided by coming into the family of God with Jesus as your Savior. For the person who is a believer in the saving work of Jesus, there is absolutely nothing to fear. Of course, none of us want to face the means by which death overtakes us. None of us want anything to do with the pain, with the discomfort. Still, if a tragedy overtakes you in this life that will send you to deaths door, your strong trust in Christ will help you get beyond that because Jesus said he would never leave us or forsake us.
Christian Writer 