My first exposure to death happened when I was nine years old. It was 1988 and my dad sat my sisters and me down on the bed in his room and told us that our mom died. At the time, being only nine, I did not quite catch the gravity of what had just been announced. My recollection is so dim all these years later, I can’t recall exactly how I felt. But it was very different in 2020 when my dad died. What I remember most about losing dad was thinking, “I’m only 41. How am I going to live so many years of my life without Dad?” But what has been reoccurring in my life since the death of my mom, has been frequent thoughts about my own death. And these thoughts have increased since dad died. I think about death probably more than I should. It has both kept me awake at night and woke me up; thoughts about when it will be and how it will happen. And most of all the fear of the unknown, moving from this world to the next one. What will that be like? How will it feel? Will I be afraid?

Surely, I am not alone. Hebrews 2:15 says that people are held in slavery by their fear of death all their lives. But as a Christian, I should no longer be enslaved by a fear of death. Jesus has conquered death. I know that. I want to trust God even in this. So perhaps this article is more for myself, but I hope if you linger too long on thoughts of death, that this article will help you, too.

The two most important things we can do if fear of death starts to over-take us is to pray about it and then to remember the truth of scripture. Or perhaps even more effectively, combine the two and pray scripture. The Bible gives us good reasons not to fear death. So maybe it’s time to memorize a few new verses.

First, Jesus says that those who believe in Him will never die. Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25, NIV). Jesus has life giving power. He created life and He gives new life. Genesis 2:7 says that God breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils. He is the ultimate life source. And even though our bodies will surely die, He has the power to keep alive what makes us who we are. Our physical bodies will die, but spiritually, we’ll be alive. Author and apologist Dr. Frank Turek says that “death is just a change of location.” Death is moving from one plane of existence to another with no reprieve in between. We will live even though we die.

In Deuteronomy 31:6 God tells the children of Israel through Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified … for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” He will never leave us, not even when we are making the move from this realm to the heavenly one. Not even then will he leave us. It is of great comfort to know that His Spirit indwells us – and His Spirit is our guarantee that we belong to Him (Ephesians 1:13-14). If the Spirit is indeed the seal that we are marked with, we are not going to be unmarked after death, that is when we die the Spirit will be with us. It is a fearful thing to die alone, but in Christ we do not die alone. God is with us, His Spirit will be with us. We can be strong and courageous because He is not going to leave us, not ever.

We don’t have to fear because we will never die and because He will always be with us. But also, we don’t need to fear because we have so many awesome things to look forward to. When Christ returns, we will have new bodies – bodies that don’t hurt in the morning, or get leg cramps, or deteriorate over time from degenerative diseases. Paul writes: “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42-43a, NIV). Imagine the joy of a new glorified body.

And something else to look forward to, Revelation 21:4: “’He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” What news! We deal with grief of losing our loved ones now, but I’m only going to lose my parents once. I get to spend eternity with them and so many others I love. And if your loved ones know Jesus, you too will spend eternity with them.

Oh, that we would catch a glimpse of the awesomeness that awaits us. If we could catch but a glimpse, the fear of the unknown would turn into the anticipation of going on an extended European vacation. This is how missionary Adoniram Judson felt: “I am not tired of my work; neither am I tired of the world. Yet when Christ calls me home, I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from his school.” I want those words to be the cry of my heart, too. When God calls me home at last, I want to go like a kid leaving the last day of school for summer vacation.

Oh, Lord, help us to remember that you have promised we will never die. That you have promised you will never leave us. That you have promised a future existence that is beyond anything we could dream. Help us to stand firm in your promises – to be strong and courageous and unafraid of the unknown. Amen.