When you’re afraid to die, God is the Deliverer from Death.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living. Psalm 116:8-9 (ESV)
Pinch me and tell me I’m dreaming. Please…. tell me this is just a nightmare, and I’ll wake up soon.
Hours earlier, a medical procedure revealed I had a cancerous tumor. The anesthesia had barely worn off when the doctor fast-tracked me to an appointment with a surgeon. As I sat in a narrow chair in the gray, cheerless exam room, I tried to make sense of this tsunami washing over me.
I had known two people with this same type of cancer. Both were dead.
As the surgeon outlined my treatment—a miserable, yearlong ordeal that stretched out before me—I wondered if this would be the way my life would end. Maybe God was finished with me. Maybe I’d done all I needed to do on earth, and cancer would usher me to eternity. I wasn’t afraid to die, though I dreaded the process of dying.
With my glass half-empty mindset, I told the doctor, “I don’t know if I can go through with this.”
“Well, what’s the alternative?” he asked.
Solemnly I replied, “I could go home and be with Jesus.”
In the days that followed, I argued with God. What did he want from me? Should I fight for my life, or did he just want to take me home?
As I mentally adjusted to my new status as cancer patient, I ran across this verse:
“I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.” Ps. 118:17 (ESV)
I’m not a fan of taking verses out of context in a name-it-and-claim-it sort of way, but in that moment I believe God was telling me it was not yet time for me to die. My purpose on earth wasn’t complete; I needed to live a little longer so I could tell others what God has done for me.
I came to know God as the Deliverer from Death.
That was several years ago, and today I am cancer-free. God has the power over life and death and won’t allow us to die before our time is up— the time he ordained for us before we were born.
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:16 (ESV)
When our time does come, the Bible reassures us that God will be beside us. As I read Psalm 116:15, I picture God watching over each one of us in that sacred moment when we pass through this life and enter the next.
“Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15 (ESV)
And because Jesus Christ is raised from the dead, we have confidence that we, too, will live forever.
“knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.” II Cor. 4:14 (ESV)
Father, my life is in your hands. I will not fear death because you are able to save me. You are able to protect me, heal me, and rescue me, so I know I won’t die before my appointed time. And when it is time for me to leave this earth, I will live forever in heaven with you, my Deliverer.
If you fear death, or if you’re afraid someone you love will die, think about these truths:
- God has the power over life and death. He is able to deliver.
- The timing of our death is in God’s hands.
- When we believe in Jesus, we have the promise of eternal life in heaven with him.
- We will be reunited with our loved ones in heaven.
- Scriptures for meditation: Dan. 3:17, John 3:16, John 11:25-26, I Cor. 15, II Cor. 5:1-9
For those who belong to Him, God is the Deliverer from Death.
